Chemistry Doesn't Need Sound
by notjustanyfangrl
Summary: Part of Deaf!Natsu college au, slice of life one shots with multiple people but also somehow sneaking in Natsu/Lucy
1. Meet Cute Reality

Lucy sat down at her desk, flipped open her 17th-century literature notes, sat her triple shot extra vanilla caramel macchiato on the table, her textbook beside her, and finally looked up.

He wasn't there.

Where the hell was he?

It was 5:30, Lucy was settled into her spot at the last table between row _Ba_ and _Bu_ , and yet the table in front of her was glaringly empty.

How the _fuck_ was she going to find out how this season of White Collar ended?

Honestly, it wasn't even Lucy's fault she was addicted to that show. She had been sitting innocently in the library two weeks ago when she noticed the guy in front of her, not studying. Even if Lucy hadn't done a double take on his neon pink hair and double bars in his left ear she would have noticed his screen playing the show just in front of him. It's not like Lucy had been staring at him, it's just that she had to look past him to watch his stupid laptop.

Look, Lucy couldn't afford Netflix and she wasn't about to risk her own laptop going on one of those shady sites just so she could find out if Niel managed to pull the scam or if he'd stay on the good side with the agent.

But _God_ did she want to find out. Lucy looked down, worrying her lip. She probably _could_ study like she had meant to every time she came here, but after the let down of mystery-boy not showing up Lucy just didn't have the energy to do it. Dejected, she packed up her notes and textbook, putting in her headphones as she headed to the doors.

Lucy was halfway back to her dorm when something hard slammed into her shoulder, sending her sprawling on her ass in the grass beside the sidewalk. She rubbed her back, scowling at the boy who had caused her fall. He sat across from her, also having fallen from the collision. Her drink coated the pavement beside, thankfully missing her clothes.

The boy however, was not so lucky with his own drink.

"Aw, fuck," he complained, arms cast to the side as he tried to keep himself from touching the red stain the was dripping down his front. And making his tank top cling to his defined muscles. Damn. It was like one of those meet cutes she read online.

Lucy's bad mood was starting to ebb away until she looked at his face. It was a very good face, but Lucy's attention was stolen from looking at it more closely by the bright pink colour of his hair. And the piercings in his ear, two bars on the left and smaller plugs in his lobes. And another two in his lip and eyebrow.

 _"You!"_

Lucy pointed her finger at him, clambering onto her knees. The boy blinked at her in confusion, bright eyes green and wide as his gaze flicked between her finger and her face.

"Uh, do I know you?" he asked, lips thinning when Lucy huffed.

"You weren't in the library! Where were you? I waited for like ten minutes to watch the stupid season finale and you never showed up!" She said hotly. Lucy pouted when the boy started to laugh.

"You're the weirdo who always watches my laptop with me!"

"Uh," Lucy mumbled, flushing harder.

"Was wondering if you'd just stop eventually," he grinned at her, no malice and a light teasing dancing in his forest green colouring.

"Well then why did you have the subtitles on?" Lucy asked hotly. Honestly, if he had noticed and thought she was weird then why wouldn't he have just turned them off?

The boy gave her a knowing grin before moving his hands. Realization dawned on Lucy and she felt heat creep up her neck in shame.

"Oh my God he's deaf," she whispered to himself.

"And his name is Natsu," the boy grinned at her, laughing at Lucy jolting and her high squeak. "I can read lips, Weirdo." Lucy covered her mouth, stopping herself from saying anything else that might offend Natsu. They sat in silence, Lucy worrying her lip. She stood up finally, gathering her bag and offering her hand to Natsu. He gave her an odd look, taking it anyway and smiling at her easily when she helped him up.

"I have a laundry machine in my dorm," she said slowly, looking at his lip ring pointedly.

"Ya don't have to," Natsu started, shocked at her offer. Lucy shrugged, blushing as she realized they were still holding hands.

"Its my fault you spilled your drink all over yourself," Lucy mumbled, blushing when she realized that Natsu probably couldn't understand her. She shrugged anyway, pulling Natsu with her. Why'd he have to be so _cute_ though? Ugh, Lucy just wanted to bury herself in her blankets and sleep for a week.

"You know I didn't hate sharing my laptop with ya. Thought it was a little weird, but I mean look at me. Deaf punk college chem student. I ain't exactly gonna judge ya for it." Natsu shrugged, giving her another easy smile. Lucy smiled back, watching the concrete in front of them for a couple seconds. Steeling herself, she tapped on his arm, turning to face him but still only looking at his lip ring. It was silver with a red jewel in the middle, and Lucy thought it stood out nicely against his skin.

"I don't think you're weird." She said, picking up the pace as she pulled Natsu along behind her.

"You don't even know me yet! What's your name anyway, Weirdo?"

Lucy pouted at the reoccurring nickname. "It's Lucy," She grumbled.

"Lushi?" Natsu sounded out.

"No," Lucy said, meeting Natsu's eyes. "Lu-see." She over-pronounced it, trying her best to make it easier for Natsu to understand.

"Lu-shi," Natsu sang, slinging his arm over her shoulder. Lucy scoffed as she realized he was making fun of her, elbowing him in the side. She was vindicated when he grunted, his sniggers cut off as she caught his kidney. "So violent," he mumbled, and Lucy looked at him as she worked out if he had meant for her to hear or not. Deciding he hadn't meant to speak out loud she let it go, fishing for her key in her bag.

"Uh," Natsu said, Lucy looking up at him as he scratched the side of his face awkwardly. "We can finish watching White Collar while my shirt's in the wash?" Natsu offered. Lucy smiled, nodding slightly as she bit her lip to stop it from getting too large. "Cool," Natsu said, a little loudly. Lucy giggled, ducking her head. Looks like Lucy might be getting her meet-cute anyway.

* * *

 **A/N; Heyo! This is a request from a while ago that spawned a whole new au and so it gets its own story! I have so much lore/background for this modern day au like this shit is my coke. Enjoy my Deaf and Indian!Natsu bcus I fucking want him to be and to explore his dynamic without his hearing :D**

 **Summary: Lucy's grumpy that her routine's been ruined and then she comes across the boy who ruined it. Writing prompt request. T**


	2. Flirting With Disaster

Laxus wanted to die, and not just because of his pounding headache or the fact that he was in an eight AM lab for fucking chemistry of all things. No, Laxus wanted the sweet embrace of death -or maybe to plead for manslaughter on account of insanity- because of his benchmate.

"Could you please make your stomach make disgusting noises quieter? I'm trying to measure out our chemicals, considering _you're_ going to be useless today."

Laxus narrowed his eyes at his labmate, thinking of other uses for the sodium hydroxide solution that was being poured from the Erlenmeyer flask to a petri dish.

"Stop looking at me like it's _my_ fault you decided to do jagerbombs instead of sleeping like a _normal_ human being with an eight AM."

Laxus scowled. The dude wasn't even able to see his face, eye on Laxus' side closed from a nasty looking scar. Laxus felt his own scar over his right eye twinge in sympathy, line thinner than the other boy's. "How'd you know what I was drinking?" he asked, tongue fuzzy and thick in his mouth and voice rough with disuse. He sounded like his dad, and Laxus wished for another double jager to push back _that_ unwelcome comparison.

"Because you reek of licorice, red bull, and regret."

Laxus snorted, grinning as he scrawled down the fourth trial's measurement in his lab notes. "I showered."

"Don't feel bad," the boy drawled, sealing the vacuum box the petri dish now resided in before they turned on the chlorine gas, "it's a stench that permeates engineering students."

Laxus frowned, wanting to bite back against the generalization of his major, but flashbacks to the group of twenty somethings doing keg stands and flip cup after their last electrical midterm stopped him. His labmate wasn't exactly wrong.

But his class had fucking earned going a little wild, especially after the hell that was the four hour midterm of Jose's quantum nuclear midterm. Laxus was pretty sure that time length wasn't even allowed by the school board, but seeing as how his grandfather was at a bit of a cold war with the dean, Laxus wasn't about to say shit.

"Well I'm sure you _biology_ kids know all about the danger of popping illegal prescription pills, don't you?" he snarked. He had yet to meet one that wasn't permanently shaking from a near overdose of Adderall, struggling to stay awake to finish making their four hundredth flash card.

"I'm not a biology major," he said flicking on the highly poisonous gas with the most uncaring expression Laxus has seen on something besides his mirror.

Laxus eyed him critically. "Only biology majors are actually interested in chemistry labs," he said finally, watching the plastic cube in front of him as the gas reacted with the solution.

"What about chem students?" he asked flatly, switching off the gas lever after the thirty seconds had passed on the stopwatch.

"Those freaks can do this shit in their sleep and try to go and set shit on fire under the fume hoods." Laxus said just as flatly as his lab partner, focusing on writing down the chemical equations involved in their experiment. "If you aren't biology then why the hell are you in this lab then?" Laxus asked. He knew why _he_ was there, stupid requirement for his degree saying he need at least a 200 level in each of physics, chem, and bio. Not that Laxus fucking understood why he needed to know how bases and ions reacted to make deadly gases, considering he was going to be an electrical engineer.

Fucking reqs.

The student gave a long suffering sigh, turning his face so Laxus could see his withering look, red-so-dark-it-was-almost-brown hair falling in his face and styled on the sides and back, chin and cheekbones sharp. HIs tan skin was smooth, Laxus fairly certain it was because he could only make two facial expression: blank apathy or an unimpressed sneer. "I'm a toxicology major," he said, opting for the latter of his whole range of two emotions.

"What the shit is that?" Laxus asked, barking out a laugh before writing the final time when salt crystals stopped forming in their solution.

"It is what it sounds like it would be," the darker hair boy hissed, opening the cube and retrieving the crystallized solution so they could separate the salt and the bleach.

"It sounds fake," Laxus snorted, adding a fourth row in the weight of the crystals and the PH of the solution. He must still be drunk to be egging on someone he didn't know, but Laxus really didn't give all that much of a fuck.

"And you still sound drunk," the boy said coolly. He held out the filtered vial of lab-made bleach. "Here, drink this and it'll disinfect your stomach."

Laxus blinked at the clear liquid behind the glass before barking a short laugh. "Alright, what's your name for the report." Lab or human resources to be determined by if his bench mate slipped the chemical into his coffee thermos.

"Cobra," the boy said, grin sharp in victory at Laxus' startled expression. "It's similar to my major, don't you think?"

"Still don't know what the fuck toxicology is," Laxus shrugged, recovering quickly. His cousin's boyfriend's name was Natsu and one of her best friend's Gajeel. At least Cobra was a thing that existed and not a fucking _season._

Laxus wrote down the name, frowning at the spot ' _Freed_ ' usually went. His best friend -and ex-boyfriend- unusually absent. Laxus had found out when he sat down from a text from Ever that he was delirious with a fever and needed to be restrained so he couldn't spread it to the rest of the university in his attempt to not miss class. Hence how a late Laxus had ended up with the possible-psychopath as a lab partner.

"It's the study of toxins and poisons you dumbass," Cobra said flatly. He huffed in irritation before prattling off the volume of the fifth sample of sodium hydroxide. "How did you even pass Biology Two-hundred if you couldn't put together 'tox-' and '-cology'?"

"By studying for twelve hours and then forgetting everything about that bullshit course." Laxus said back, defensive. He'd worked hard for that A in the course, and was proud of it.

"Only idiots forget what they've learned," Cobra hummed, face once more a mix of cocky and blank. How he managed to look bored and superior at the same time was starting to grate on Laxus' last nerve, though he knew he was one more _incident_ away from academic suspension.

Laxus could really use that shot right now.

At least this was the last trial they needed before he could fuck off and never worry about dealing with Cobra again.

Laxus looked over, taking in an appreciative view. Laxus may be stoic and rough around the edges but he wasn't blind. Cobra was _hot_ , with rich brown skin and spiky hair and two bars in his right ear. His personality might have been garbage, but that'd never stopped Laxus from being able to appreciate someone's aesthetic.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Cobra said, corner of his mouth twitching at his own joke. Laxus remained unfazed, expecting to be caught and uncaring.

"How'd you get your scar?"

"How'd you get yours?" Cobra sneered, flicking on the gas switch and recording the pressure and flow rate of the gas as shown on the display connected to the nozzle.

"Fair," Laxus hummed. "What's your number?"

"What the _fuck?_ " Cobra spat, eye large as he whipped his head to look at Laxus. He thought the boy's cheeks might have been a little darker, but he couldn't really tell. The thought made him preen in victory though, that he had gotten the upper hand.

"For the lab report? In case our data doesn't line up?"

Cobra grunted, looking back at the chamber as the reaction took place. "Whatever."

Laxus blinked when at the end of the lab there was a torn off corner of paper shoved in his notebook, ten digits scrawled across it in sharp handwriting. He shook his head with a rueful smile, typing in the numbers to his contacts under the name 'Snake Boi'.

Why was everyone he interacted with so fucking weird.

* * *

Laxus woke up, sitting straight up in his small single bed that came with his dorm room, staring unseeing into the dark.

"I fucking hit on him." Laxus whispered to himself.

And Cobra gave him his _number._

He jerked the cord from his phone where it had been charging on his bed side table, barely registering the time of 3:47 fucking AM as he blinded himself with the full brightness. Cursing, Laxus adjusted the screen to barely painful before typing a message to Freed. Laxus was smart with books, but interactions with other human beings was a thing Laxus liked to avoid at the best of times. And now he was texting his ex about the possibility of him hitting on some random dude. And _succeeding._

 **Me - 3:47 AM:** _So uh I asked a guy for his number for a lab cus you have the fucking plague and looking back i think i flirted with him and i think i hit on him and now i have his number uhhhh what the actual fuck is this? Was I actually hitting on him? Did he hit back?_

 **Me - 3:48 AM:** _is hit back the right term?_

 **Me - 3:48 AM:** _I don't think it is but I'm going to use it anyway bc fuck english_

Laxus flopped back on his pillow, rubbing his scar. Fucking emotions. Did Laxus even _want_ to have been hitting on Cobra? He thought about his fuller bottom lip and the twinkle of mischief in his eye when he was telling Laxus to drink bleach and the way his cologne smelt like the riverside and musk and his stupidly spiky hair that Laxus wanted to fuck up just to see that small fire light his dark eye.

Ah fuck, Laxus wanted to hit on him.

His phone buzzed in his hand, and Laxus blinked in surprise at Freed still being awake. Or maybe he had woken him up. Either way, Laxus wasn't about to complain about getting some damned advice.

 **Freed (Sword Emoji) - 3:50 AM:** _Yes, babe. You were hitting on him. It's okay, it took you four dates to realize we were dating._

 **Freed (Sword Emoji) - 3:51 AM:** _Two weeks to realize we broke up._

 **Me - 3:52 AM:** _I'm beginning to realize why you wanted couples therapy_

 **Freed (Sword Emoji) - 3:55 AM:** _It's okay babe, I still love you. Now go get laid please, you're insufferable when horny and have a crush._

Laxus snorted. He wasn't _insufferable_ if anyone was _insufferable_ in their group it was Ever and at all times. Insufferable. Ha.

Wait.

Did Freed mean right now? Wouldn't that be _uncouth,_ as Freed would put it? Did he want a booty call? Or did Laxus want more? Laxus didn't know what the fuck he wanted to eat most of the time how in all holy hell was he supposed to work out stupid things like _feelings_.

Ugh.

 **Me - 4:00 AM:** _Like... now? Cause its 4 am and idk if hes up. I mean, hes a fucking chem/poison/fuck knows major so probs but wouldn't it be rude? To start a date with a booty call? I feel like asking for sex this early would be rude_

 **Me - 4:00 AM:** _both time of day and in regards to a possible relationship_

Laxus stared up at his ceiling, eyes barely able to make out the rock poster above his head from the brightness of staring at his phone screen. Him and Bixlow were supposed to be going to the Thunder Claps next Saturday and Laxus was looking forward to getting stoned and zoning out to some good rock EDM for a couple hours with one of his best friends so-fucking-much. He startled out of his thoughts at the dark phone buzzing on his chest, screen lighting up with Freed's text.

 **Freed (Sword Emoji) - 4:05 AM:** _I love you, but how you manage to keep your stupidity secret from everyone we know I'll never comprehend._

 **Freed (Sword Emoji) - 4:06 AM:** _No do not text him for a booty call at four am._

 **Freed (Sword Emoji) - 4:06 AM:** _You animal._

 **Me - 4:09 AM:** _Ohhh, like later today okay i get you_

Laxus rolled over, groaning into his pillow. He turned his head, typing another message.

 **Me - 4:13 AM:** _Can't we just date again that was a good thing_

 **Freed (Sword Emoji) - 4:07 AM:** _No darling. We tried that before and while the sex was amazing you were frankly a horrible boyfriend. But you have grown and I have full confidence in you not fucking this new one up horribly._

Laxus grinned at his phone, rolling his eyes before typing out a quick 'gee thanks' and clicking off his phone.

Ah fuck what the shit was he going to say to Cobra?

* * *

Laxus adjusted the strap on his shoulder as he exited the math building, three stories tall and made entirely of brick that was probably twenty years old when it was built fifty years ago. He groaned as he rubbed his neck, thankful that he was finally done his last class of the day. How Natsu had gotten into his fourth year electrical physics course Laxus had absolutely _no fucking clue,_ and how that fuckhead had gotten a better grade than him on the last assignment was even _more_ astounding.

Thinking of annoying chemistry majors, Laxus's pocket burned where his phone rested with the uncontacted number. Laxus felt it judging him. He could actually hear Cobra's snarky voice calling him a pussy in his head, scowling as he continued to walk along the cracked sidewalk.

"Angel I swear to every fucking god in existence if you tell _anyone_ -"

Oh shit, Laxus was really hearing Cobra's voice.

He looked up, spotting Cobra standing beside a bust of some old dead dude that had helped found math or whatever, a pretty woman with long silver hair pinching his cheek with an almost cruel smile. "That our little snakey has a _crush_?" she sang. Cobra's shoulders tensed, and Laxus leaned against the bust five feet away, curious to see where the fuck this was going to go.

"I talked to the bastard _once_ ," Cobra snapped, swatting away Angel's hand. The girl smirked as if Cobra had just told a joke, twirling a piece of hair between her fingers.

"Uh huh, and that's why you've kept your hand on your phone all day. 'Cus you two 'talked' once." Cobra sputtered, Laxus watching the side of his face twist in a flustered sneer. "Tell me, was he tall and muscular? You always were too easy for the masc types."

Laxus snorted, covering it with a cough but too late not to draw Angel's attention, and by extension, Cobra's. The girl's face lit up like it was fucking Christmas and Cobra looked like he wished he still had that bleach.

"Awwww you two match face scars!" she cooed, clapping her hands together once in excitement.

"You say another word and I'll put Kerberos in your fucking bed."

Angel pouted at Cobra before huffing and flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Whatever, spoil my fun as usual, _Erik_ ," Cobra -or should Laxus say Erik?- glared at her sharply but Angel carried on, paying his threat display absolutely no attention, "I'm off to make sure Midnight didn't die in their sleep in whatever nook they've found now."

Laxus returned her small nod as she passed, lifting an eyebrow at her sniff as she looked him over again. He thought it might have been a silent 'my friend could do better than you' and judging by the RBF she had Laxus was pretty sure he was right.

Cobra was silent as he glared at Laxus, a new expression painted on his face; pure and clear murder.

"I don't know what fucking game you're playing but I'm over it and-"

Laxus interrupted the rant Cobra was spitting at him, looking over his worn but polished combat boots and torn black jeans that were tight enough on his thighs to leave Laxus with no need to imagine how muscular he was, tight black tank top with a deep purple snake skull partially covered by a leather jacket that had deep red accented strips of leather along the arms and two over the breasts, dark black studs on the shoulders and back of the arms from what Laxus could see. Band patches were thrown over the pockets and back as a visual record of all his concerts. Laxus finally eyed the thick black collar with large and shallow spikes on it before meeting Cobra's pissed-off glare.

"I'm going to the Thunder Claps concert next weekend. Judging by the Poison Blood sticker you got on your ass there I'd say you're in need of being taken to a concert with _good_ music playing."

Cobra choked on his words, staring at Laxus blankly before barking a sharp laugh. He drew his pointed gaze over Laxus' own slides, ripped jeans, loose work out tank, and the large bright yellow headphones that hung around his neck.

"I highly doubt _you'd_ be able to have any taste in music if you insist on dressing like a fucking gym rat, but I won't turn down free shots and concert tickets," Cobra smirked at him, grin sharp as he insulted him. Laxus grinned back. Flirting was fun when you got to rip into the person.

"Who said I'd pay for your drinks?"

"The way you can't take your perverted eyes off me would be a damned good hint that all I have to do is touch your dick and have you wrapped around my little finger."

"Aw, that's not a very nice thing to call your dick. I'm sure it's at _least_ three inches."

Cobra sneered at him, stepping closer as fire danced in his eye, obviously delighted at the challenge. "Two inches longer than yours."

"You wanna find out or something? Laxus asked, tipping his head down as he towered over Cobra by a good four inches, stepping forward as well.

"You that desperate to get fucked?" he asked, meeting Laxus' gaze and holding his own, unperturbed by Laxus' height.

" _You_ that desperate to get your face pinned against a wall?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," Cobra smirked, thumbs hooked in his belt loops and leaning further into Laxus' space, looking up at him through thick lashes and a promise of danger and battle of wills in his dark gaze.

"Yeah, I think I fucking would," Laxus said, unashamed. His smirk widened when Cobra's faltered and his cheeks got distinctly darker as he blinked up at Laxus, the blond man's confidence sure enough at this point that he hooked his pointer through one of Cobra's unfilled belt hoops and pulled his crotch closer so that it brushed against Laxus'. "Wha'dya say, _Erik?"_ Laxus breathed against the shorter man's lips, noses almost touching.

"Call me that again and I'll strangle you in your sleep, shithead," Cobra hissed, not pulling away from him as his eye darted to Laxus' lips and then back up. Laxus swallowed roughly at the challenge that sparked in his sharp grin as he reached up with both hands and yanked on Laxus' headphones so that their foreheads touched. "Now why don't you show me your tiny ass dorm. I ain't getting my sheets fucked up for a douchebag like you."

"Ain't you full of romance?" Laxus snorted, brushing his nose against Cobra's and barely speaking above a whisper.

"One of us is about to be full of _something_ and I was never big on the flowers and chocolates crap." Cobra said back, chin tilting up slightly to brush his top lip against Laxus' lower one.

"Good to know," Laxus grinned, pulling back before he could actually kiss Cobra. He readjusted the strap on his shoulder again, nodding with his head in the direction of his dorm.

Cobra looked at him like he was a lab report that wasn't making sense - a thing that Laxus interpreted as baffled and irritated and determined to understand- before nodding and walking towards where Laxus had motioned. They walked in silence, Laxus' hand twitching each time he almost grazed Cobra's. It felt _wrong_ to just walk apart considering what they had planned, or at least insinuated, but Laxus had zero fucking clue how to make the first move. Especially because Cobra apparently wasn't into that. The minutes passed awkwardly as Laxus considered just fucking texting Freed about what to do but also not thinking that texting his ex-boyfriend would be good hook up etiquette. Was this a hook up? Was this all that was? Cobra had said yes -kind of- to the concert and oh _fuck_ Laxus had _asked him out on a date without realizing it-_

 _And Cobra said yes again._

They were halfway to his dorm, just passing the English building his cousin Lucy was probably still in working on her seventh draft of her creative writing piece, and her stupid electrical-physics-idiot-savant boyfriend probably draped over her like a god damn blanket -how was _that_ for romantic, as if Cobra would ever let Laxus do that to him- when Cobra moved and startled Laxus from his thoughts.

"You're useless at shit like this aren't you?" Cobra sighed. He kept looking ahead as he grabbed Laxus' arm and slung it over his own shoulders. "I could basically hear you thinking about holding my hand. Better?"

Laxus swallowed thickly, grunting an affirmative as his face heated at being caught. He glared at a flock of geese under a tree to their right, channeling his anger into the birds resting in the shade on the warm fall afternoon.

What the fuck had Laxus' gotten himself into?

* * *

"What do you mean you haven't kissed besides when you _fuck_?" Lucy gaped at him, dumbfounded as she gathered her own nine dollar strawberry cooler and Natsu's four dollar beer, Laxus both thankful and irritated that he had run into his cousin and her dumbass boyfriend at the concert. Bixlow hadn't been the happiest to give up his ticket, but had been placated by Freed reading aloud first Laxus' panicked four AM text messages and then his even more panicked nine PM text messages about having just gotten laid before going on an actual date.

Fuck, all of his friends were massive dicks. No wonder he was dating Cobra.

Well, kind of dating Cobra.

"Listen I don't need to be lectured about relationships by someone who brought their _deaf_ boyfriend to a fucking concert." Laxus frowned, careful of the shitty vender beer cups so that he wouldn't crush them by accident in his annoyance.

"One," Lucy huffed, half running to keep up with him through the crowd, " _Natsu_ dragged _me_ here. He likes to be part of the chaos of the crowd and to feel the bass bump through him or whatever. And two, we are still on the topic of _you_ and your inability to have a relationship like a normal human being."

Laxus rolled his eyes as they walked to where Natsu and Cobra were standing by one of the entrances into the stadium, hands moving quickly and in agitation as they signed to one another.

Laxus couldn't fucking believe that Lucy was dating his maybe-boyfriend's cousin.

"You fucking dick, you know I can't understand ISL!" Natsu roared, throwing his hands above his head, voice loud enough to draw passing glances from a few people entering the large arena.

"Not my fault you don't know your own heritage," Cobra sneered, following it with something that Laxus could extrapolate was an insult by the sneer of his lips despite not understanding the other language. " _Ullu de pathe."_

"I can read Hindi on lips," Natsu hissed. Lucy smiled as she moved the beer in front of his face, Natsu blinking at the sudden liquid blocking his view of Cobra. He smiled down at her, lip ring shifting as it was pulled. Lucy signed a quick hello, her hand flat as she did something that Laxus thought looked like a short and relaxed salute, quickly dropping her hand with her pointer and middle finger intended in a weird peace sign and flicking her lower lip with her middle finger twice.

Natsu grinned and rolled his eyes, Laxus lost at what the gesture meant. He had managed to learn a few swears and the alphabet, but otherwise relied on Natsu's ability to read lips and speak when interacting with him. He'd offered to take better notes for Natsu in their class, but the stubborn bastard had refused and instead relied on a voice to text app on his phone as he took his own notes from the board.

Cobra signed something, the only sign Laxus caught making him grin at the end; Cobra flicking his hand from under his chin and out with his palm facing towards himself.

"I ain't a bitch you fucking emo furry." Natsu spat.

"Just because I respect and collect snakes doesn't mean I want to fuck them," Cobra snarled, "and at least I'm passionate about animals that actually exist, _dragon boy_." Cobra held his hand so his fingers were splayed, wiggling the three middle fingers as he moved it from his chin outwards, palm facing down this time. "I don't even know how we're related, even your fucking _hair_ is off brand! What kinda genetic fuck-up gets _pink_ hair?"

"I like his hair," Lucy defended. Laxus groaned loudly, throwing his arm around Cobra's shoulders.

"We're gonna go somewhere else now," Laxus said to Lucy, nodding at Natsu as he led Cobra away from his own cousin. They moved through the crowd, Cobra fitting nicely under Laxus' arm as they walked. They entered the stadium, filing their way to the ground level where they would be standing for the show, Laxus letting Cobra stew as he learned the other man liked to do.

"That useless little jackass follows me everywhere," Cobra hissed. Laxus looked at him from the corner of his eye, debating if he wanted to get into family dynamics right now. Considering how Natsu was more likely to become family than Cobra though...

Laxus swore internally before speaking against his better judgment.

"Technically they decided to come here before you," Laxus said, not looking at Cobra. He felt him stiffen under his arm, but didn't pull away.

"Whatever," Cobra spat, taking a long sip of his beer. Laxus grunted, content with listening to the crowd around them mill between one of the opening acts and Thunder Claps. Two girls were standing by them, talking loudly with flower crowns in their hair and neon bras under white netted tops, one tucked into her short jean shorts and the other hanging down to her mid thigh and touching the top of her thin stockings, her own shorts barely visible under the netted fabric.

Laxus didn't think he'd have noticed if it weren't for Cobra tensing again under his arm and leading them away from the girls.

"I know you're a big fan of my dick but I didn't peg ya as needing to avoid an entire gender." Laxus commented, taking a sip of his own drink as he waited for Cobra to speak.

"Their voices were irritating me," Cobra said flatly, lips turned down slightly in his neutral expression. Normally when Laxus wore that look as his own neutral expression people said he looked liked he was plotting murder, when in reality he just thinking of dumb shit. Laxus was pretty sure Cobra was definitely plotting to murder someone, though. Laxus thought there might have been more to it than what Cobra was telling him but decided to drop it. Freed had been very adamant about not pissing off his date when at a social event.

Cobra took out his phone as Laxus glared at a boy that was staring a little too intently at Cobra's biceps, revealed by his ripped sleeve tank top. The boy scurried off as Cobra slipped his phone back into the back pocket of his tight jeans. Jeans that Laxus knew for a fact Cobra was wearing because he was aware how tight they were on his ass and Laxus' appreciation of it.

"Natsu and Lucy will down here in a second and if you say anything about it I will bite your dick off tonight."

Laxus blinked once before nodding. He pulled Cobra closer to him when the other man downed his drink in a way that the other engineering students would cheer on, and made Laxus respect him just a little bit more.

Natsu and Lucy appeared again like Cobra said, Natsu sending a wary glance at Cobra before smiling brightly. Laxus huffed and sipped his beer as he scanned the crowd again. Natsu didn't have a fucking single grudge-holding bone in his body when it came to abuse against himself. Laxus also wondered how the pink-haired pyro freak and Cobra were related, though for different reasons.

Laxus noticed Lucy lean towards him and Cobra, Natsu's attention on the stage as the stagehands brought out the equipment and instruments for Thunder Claps. "If you do anything to ruin this concert for Natsu I will find out where you live and do something so horrible and scarring you'll never be able to sleep again." Lucy said sweetly, not bothering to lower her voice as the back of her head was to Natsu. She smiled once, lips pulled up sharply and eyes cold enough to make Laxus' heart skip a beat like the time he thought he had missed a final. He took another sip of his drink, already half done but choosing to pretend he hadn't just witnessed his cousin promising to maim another student in a huge crowd. His one law course taught him nothing if not plausible deniability.

He snuck a glance at Cobra's face, somehow surprised and not at the bright grin pulling up one corner of his mouth.

"I like her." Cobra said, looking around the crowd as well. Laxus shook his head, offering the rest of his beer to Cobra. "Well isn't someone trying to get me drunk."

"You're much easier to top when you're already a little fucked up," Laxus grinned down at him. Cobra snorted, drinking Laxus' beer and twisting his lips into a sneer, retort lost in his disgust.

"Thought an alcoholic like you would at least know how to drink good beer," Cobra drawled.

"If you don't like it I'll definitely be needing it to deal with you all night," Laxus said, raising an eyebrow at Cobra. He rolled his eye, taking another large sip with a grimace.

"I'm a fucking delight."

Laxus snorted loudly, grinning at Cobra's flat glare.

The crowd began cheering as people in ripped jeans and wearing over a dozen glow stick pieces of jewelry began filing onto the stage, the lights dimming and the crowd enveloping them so there was no place that Laxus wasn't being touched by slightly sweaty and glitter covered bodies. Cobra glared, hiding deeper under Laxus' arm and away from the chance of anything too sparkly and happy touching him. "Why'd you agree if concerts ain't your thing?" Laxus purred, leaning down so his lips brushed his ear.

"I like concerts," Cobra hissed back, turning his head so his lips almost brushed Laxus', "I _don't_ like raves."

"This isn't even close to rave. I'd be on way more drugs if this was a rave," Laxus murmured back, distracted by Lucy's lecture in the back of his head about normal relationships. Heat from where Cobra was pressed against his side and under his arm scorched him, Laxus' brain focusing on Cobra's lips and how the top one was thinner than the bottom, a slight dimple under the left corner of his lip where a lip piercing might have once been. Laxus' throat grew dry at the thought of seeing the silver against his warm-toned skin.

Laxus lifted his gaze to meet Cobra's, a dark, unreadable expression piercing him.

"Maybe you just wanted to be here with me," he said, leaning forward slightly so his nose brushed Cobra's. A slight grin lifted the corner of Cobra's mouth, a mocking glint flashing in his eye that made Laxus smirk in turn. Whatever Cobra was about to say was lost as the DJ of the band made the bass drop and the crowd went wild, jumping and thrumming around them. Cobra got jostled, shoving him towards Laxus, his forehead pressing into his lips. Laxus glared at the clearly drunk girl who had shoved Cobra and ruined whatever the fuck Laxus had been trying to do.

Laxus grinned when he heard Cobra swear under his breath, pleased that he wasn't happy about it either. Deciding that an EDM concert probably _wasn't_ the best place to figure out what the shit was going on between them, Laxus turned his attention to the stage and lost himself in the performance. He sang along with the next few songs, moving with the crowd, bouncing on the balls of his feet and losing himself to the pounding that resonated with his bones and overrode his own heartbeat in his blood.

Cobra shifted slightly in front of him when Lucy and Natsu got crushed to his side, rolling his eye less sarcastically than Laxus expected at Lucy's mouthed apology. Laxus grinned at the opportunity to both touch and embarrass him, grabbing his hips and pulling him against Laxus' chest, dancing behind him as one song bled into another, the crowd going wild at the new mix.

Cobra stilled at first, looking over his shoulder with a sharp glare that made Laxus' smirk grow larger as he rolled his hips against Cobra's ass. His cheeks looked darker when a strobe light rolled over his face, bathing him in purple light and a voice in the back of Laxus' mind compared him to what a god of contempt and poison might look like. Thoughts of how fucking whipped he was were forced out of his mind as Cobra gave him a dangerous smile before turning his head back to the stage and crushing his ass into Laxus with a lewd and rough roll. Laxus cursed through a grin, fingers digging into Cobra's hips, thumbs slipping under the hem of his shirt and moving over the taut skin of his hip bones and stomach.

More songs passed like that, Cobra and Laxus working up a heavy sweat grinding and rutting against one another in the sweltering heat created by a crowd full of young adults doing the same. Laxus pointedly ignored his baby cousin going even harder against Natsu than Cobra was to him, Natsu's sweaty forehead connected to her jaw as he sucked at her neck, one hand flat on her stomach as he guided her in deep rolls against him in what Laxus was almost disgusted to note was practiced movements.

He didn't know how well Natsu would understand a 'touch her and I'll castrate you' without being able to hear Laxus' tone but he was hoping he'd be able to convey the right amount of 'I could kill you with you hand' in his eyes when he cornered the pink haired brat after the show.

He was thankful to see Lucy stop trying to ride Natsu's dick through their clothes, shrieking with joy when Natsu stooped low and put her on his shoulders. She gripped his hair as he stood again, bare thighs clenching around his head and his own hands gripping into her pale skin tightly. Laxus was stopped from straight up decking Natsu for putting his face so close to parts of Lucy Laxus would rather fucking claw his eyes out with a rusty spoon than think about when he noticed Natsu looking up at Lucy. His eyes were soft, fondness almost palpable in an aura around them as they met each other's gazes. Lucy _beamed_ as she smiled down at him, braid messed and slung over one shoulder and glitter paint smeared over her cheek and bare shoulders. Natsu's smile was lopsided, the couple completely separated from the music and crowd around them as Lucy leaned down, sealing her lips against his sweetly. She pulled back slightly, giggling as Natsu rubbed his nose along hers and they got lost in each others eyes again.

Laxus let his gaze drift to Cobra, an unfamiliar ache in his chest making him frown at the spiked hair in front of him.

"Put me on your shoulders and I'll create a mosh pit," Cobra said, serious and flat as he looked over his shoulder at Laxus again. The blond smirked, nodding and forcing his attention back on the stage. He frowned down at Cobra when he stopped dancing against him. He cocked his head at Cobra's searching scowl, unsure of what was going through his head. "Fuck it," he grunted, confusion making Laxus knit his eyebrows at Cobra's low grunt. He froze for a second, Cobra twisting fully in his arms and threading his fingers into the short hairs at the base of Laxus' neck. He grunted as Cobra slammed his mouth to his, rough and a little awkward as he leaned up into Laxus.

The music dulled in his ears, arms winding around Cobra and pulling him flush against his chest. Their lips slated against one another's easily as the kiss drew on, Cobra's short nails digging greedily into the back of Laxus' neck and fisting at his short hair. Laxus nipped at Cobra's lower lip, opening his mouth at Cobra's demanding swipe of his tongue along Laxus' lips.

His hand dropped to push into the back pocket of Cobra's jeans, squeezing harshly and pulling his body flush to Laxus' again. Cobra broke the kiss, grinning up at him hungrily and with lewd joy dancing in his eye. Laxus squeezed again, returning the dark smirk. Cobra chuckled under his breath before kissing Laxus softly once, returning to demanding and impatient kisses as if to cover up the almost tender action. Neither said anything, resuming dancing and losing themselves in the atmosphere of the show and trying to one-up one another.

Laxus figured Cobra liked having a boyfriend that wasn't afraid of a little friendly competition.

His hand released Laxus' hair, sliding between their bodies and roughly groping at the front of Laxus' pants. Cobra smirked against his mouth when he grunted at the unexpected touch. His self-pleased grin fell when Laxus pulled his hand from Cobra's pocket and instead ran along the center seam of his jeans, fingers pressing firmly and rubbing at him there. Laxus looked at Cobra through his lashes, pleased to see Cobra's deep scowl and to feel his face warm in the lack of space between them.

Okay, so maybe a little less-than-friendly competition.

Not that Laxus was complaining.

* * *

 **A/N: Happy Birthday to constellunaa! I saw your beautiful drawing of Laxus and Cobra and thought 'hey what if she actually ships it?' and then wrote 6.5K of it in hopes that you actually do lmao.**

 **If not, have some hint of nalu bcus I am so sorry**

 **Part of my deaf!Natsu college au bcus I'm a slut for continuing universes! Also** **shout out to papalogia for putting up with me yelling about this and for helping with some of the words. Natsu and Cobra are cousins, with Indian!Igneel and his unnamed brother who is Cobra's dad.**

 **Also praise rivendell101 for helping me title it! Apparently I'm useless without my friends :D**

 **\- First sign - Lucy's saying 'Hello Pink' which is her teasing nickname for Natsu**  
 **\- Second sign - Cobra's just signing 'dragon'**  
 **\- Hindi - Cobra says "Ullu de pathe.", which is Hindi for 'son of an owl'. Is an insult calling the other one stupid.**  
 **\- ISL vs ASL - ASL is American Sign Language and ISL is Indian Sign Language, which Natsu does not know.**

 **Let me know what you guys think!**

 **Summary:** **A bad decision leads to possible-worse ones, but Laxus isn't going to complain if it means spending more time with a perpetually pissed off one-eyed toxicology major.**


	3. Mid-Day Concussions

Lucy couldn't tell if she wanted to laugh or to cry.

On the one hand, Natsu was currently laying in her small dorm room, in her bed, half unconscious and Lucy had no clue how to help him. On the other hand, he was in this state because he had walked into a _pole_. An honest to god, cartoon-like scenario, pole.

Lucy made calming noises when Natsu shifted, scowling to herself when she remembered how stupid that reflex was in her current situation seeing how he was deaf, and nothing Lucy could do could be helpful. He made a noise, low and distressed, and Lucy wanted to scream. She tapped his shoulder, urging him to look at her. After several tries he finally did, emerald gaze unfocused and a large and angry looking knot forming dead center on his forehead.

"Are you okay?" Lucy signed, speaking out loud as well. Natsu blinked once, nodding as he curled onto his other side so he was closer to Lucy. She smiled as she ran a hand through his hair, Natsu pushing slightly into the touches. They had only been friends for a few months, dating for a week and a half, but Lucy knew how physical he was. Cuddles, casual hand-holding, and resting his chin on top of her head were all daily expectations at this point, and Lucy loved it.

"M'fine," Natsu mumbled. And Lucy was back to freaking out because she couldn't tell if he was slurring from his injury or just not concentrating as he spoke.

Lucy ran her hand along the side of his face, brushing his bangs from his face and tracing an eyebrow piercing with one finger. Natsu cracked his eye open, and Lucy smiled at him. "Spell your name for me," she signed. Natsu frowned at her, and Lucy made a low sound of irritation while keeping her expression the same. She repeated the phrase, slower. Natsu cocked his head, more confused. He tried to sit up, paling quickly and sweat beading on his temples. Lucy rushed as she pushed him back into her bed, worrying her lip at his whine.

Lucy looked around the room, petting the top of Natsu's head in what she hoped was comfort. Her curtain was drawn, stopping the afternoon sun from overstimulating Natsu's maybe-concussed self, and all the books and notes that had been living on her bed for the past two weeks had migrated to her floor to make room for Natsu. If it weren't for the pained look that twisted his features just enough for her to notice Lucy would have thought he looked adorable, curled in her twin bed and laying on top of her yellow polka dotted blanket, her stuffed dog that she had sewn a snowman nose onto when she was five being cuddled by Natsu as if it could chase away his pain.

She was still in her work uniform, black t-shirt with her name tag on it and the university's mascot on the back, hair pulled up in a messy ponytail because Lucy had woken up fifteen minutes before her shift. Natsu had greeted her with the sign for 'pretty', which made her blush more than any other guy that had called her gorgeous or beautiful or stunning. And then she had been distracted with her, y'know, _job_ checking refunded books and buying back from the other two-dollars-above-broke students at Fairy Tail, and the next thing she knew Natsu had wandered off. Which usually didn't bother her, except the store had finally stocked the textbook for the 500-student level 100 stats class. Lucy cringed as she thought of her coworkers dealing with the desperate throng of students.

Then Natsu whimpered as he pressed into her hand, and Lucy couldn't give a flying fuck about what was happening back at the campus bookstore.

"Dummy," Lucy mumbled to herself. She leaned forward, kissing his bump gently. Tomorrow, she'd laugh at him for walking into a god damn pillar, but right now all she wanted was to make sure he was okay. Lucy already wasn't a fan of how Natsu acted like he was a burden, and she didn't want to add a concussed and bedridden boyfriend to that mix of self-loathing that she had yet to unpack.

She also really wanted to punch the guy that had shoved Natsu, but priorities.

Natsu opened his eyes, and Lucy signed 'name' again, her fore and middle finger pressed tight against each other and swiping her right-hand fingers over her left-hand fingers twice. Natsu furrowed his brow at her hands, trying desperately to understand what in all hell she was saying. Lucy almost screamed because this wasn't the first time this had happened before Natsu had finally gotten it, and she didn't know whose fault it was.

"Name?" Natsu asked out loud, looking at her questioningly. Lucy smiled, nodding quickly. Natsu barked out a laugh, throwing his head against the pillow behind him. Lucy scowled at him, unsure as to what was so funny but guessing that she was being laughed at. Natsu's grin was weaker than usual, his normally golden brown skin a sickly grey under and red around his bump, but Lucy still got the impression of an amused cat in the twitch of his lips and glimmer under the haze in his eye. "Name." Natsu signed, holding his hands like Lucy had, but instead of swiping he simply tapped them twice.

Lucy groaned, covering her flushed face with her hands. She couldn't believe it had been three months since she'd started taking ASL lessons after class on Fridays, and she had still messed up something as simple as 'name'. She was limp as Natsu pulled her to bed, his pull weak, but still strong enough to tug her down and curl her against his chest.

"Silly Lushi," Natsu hummed, kissing the top of her head. She pulled back, making sure Natsu could read her lips.

"I'm not the one who walked into a pole."

Natsu pouted at her, nuzzling her cheek as he whined. "Mean Lushi. I'm concussed and yer mocking me." Lucy snorted, gently running her hands from his neck to his chest and back up. As if she were the mean one here. A bottle of water sat freshly open on her bedside table, heating pads and cool packs both ready for use on the floor, a sick bucket in case his nausea turned into full-on gross puking like the concussion symptom list had said. And she was here cuddling him instead of at work! Mean, her ass.

"Mildly concussed, and maybe at that," Lucy said, grinning at her bickering with Natsu. She was just thankful he was aware enough to read her lips, though she didn't want to strain him and knew they should stop soon, just in case. "You're usually so aware of the space around you, I don't understand how you missed a foot and a half wide brick _pole_."

Natsu's pout deepened, cracking into a scowl when Lucy giggled at his expression. She kissed his lip ring, pulling back expectantly.

"Was distracted," Natsu grumbled, falling into silence as Lucy waited for him to continue. The muffled sounds of TV came through the thin walls of her dorm, and she couldn't help but be thankful that sound wasn't a factor that Lucy had to worry about keeping to a minimum for Natsu's headaches. Cana may be a good friend, but considerate she tended to slip on, just for the simple fact of her forgetting to do so.

"By what," Lucy finally pressed. Lucy ran her thumb over his lip, pulling herself closer to him so all that separated them was Plue; her snowman slash dog stuffy.

"You." he said. His scowl softened, expression turning serious and so unfathomably sincere that Lucy was winded. "I saw a bunny I thought you'd love, and wanted to give it to ya 'cus ya looked so stressed. But then the guy shoved me 'cus I guess he thought I was ignoring him and I turned around to tell the jackass I was deaf and watch him be socially ruined by a crowd of people judging him for yelling at the deaf guy and there was a pillar and now my head hurts."

Lucy kissed him, soft and sweet and careful so as to not hurt him but knowing no other thing to say what she felt. Adoration swelled in her chest for her dumb, goofy, pierced and pink haired puppy of a boyfriend. She didn't know if she was in love with him yet, but damn if Lucy didn't love this boy. Natsu returned the kiss, smiling with pleasant surprise as his lips pushed firmer against hers. He opened his mouth, tongue brushing against the seam of her lips hopefully, and Lucy pulled back. Natsu blinked at her before whining, trying to pull her back to him for a kiss. Lucy pressed her finger to his lips, biting her lip as she grinned and shook her head no.

"Rest," she signed. Natsu whined loudly, knowing his volume when Lucy rolled her eyes and increasing it. Lucy giggled in exasperation, gently tapping his temple to remind him of his injury. Now was not the time for lazy makeouts, and Lucy was unafraid to enforce that rule.

"Fine," Natsu conceded unhappily, returning to signing. "But check my jacket."

Lucy tilted her head in confusion but sat up and did as he requested anyway. She then gasped, pulling a yellow bunny stuffed animal the size of her hand out from his leather jacket, the name 'Lucy' stitched into it's ear in white.

She swatted at his arm, whirling on him from where she perched at the edge of her bed. "You stole the rabbit!?"

"Technically, you stole it 'cus I forgot I had it in my pocket when ya led me out of the store. You should really put some tag detectors in there. Nothing even happened, at least I think it didn't. The walk's kinda fuzzy right now." Natsu explained simply, as if hadn't just stolen from her place of employment. Lucy huffed at his blase attitude toward grand-theft-bunny. She gave him a judgemental look as he led her back to his chest, wrapping his arms around her.

"Unbelievable," she muttered to herself. Then Natsu nuzzled into the top of her head, breathing in deeply and relaxing as he took in her scent. Which Lucy would find weird, if his own mix of cologne and natural musk wasn't lulling her into an afternoon nap as well. She couldn't help it, burrowing deeper into his chest, each holding a stuffed animal with one arm. Lucy smiled. She could always pay for it later, granted that Natsu didn't do something like die on her in his sleep.

Lucy laughed to herself, legs tangling easily with Natsu's. It would take more than ramming headfirst into a brick wall to take out her boyfriend. She didn't think she knew anyone that was as strong as her Natsu.

Definitely none that were as adorable or unknowingly sweet as him.

* * *

 **A/N; I'm not dead! Almost, but not fully lmao. Anyway, have some adorable fluff I got from a prompt!**

 **Soon I'll be working on a smut piece and angst for this au :D**


	4. Revelations

Natsu blinked the sleep from his eyes, waiting the seconds as he adjusted to the darkness around them. The clock came into focus, the second hand ticking away as minutes passed in silence, as Natsu was so used to.

Sometimes he hated it, what it took from him. The sound of Lucy's laugh, Happy's meow, his father's voice. But then there were times he was thankful, being able to shut out the world when everything became just a little too much. Or times like now, when Natsu was able to focus on all his other senses in the moment before him.

The smell of Lucy's hair, still a little wet from her shower before bed. The scent of sleep and warm bed tangled with her golden curls swam through his mind, lulling him back into a half-sleep daze. It was a little after two AM, at least according to the old-fashioned clock that hung above Lucy's door that Natsu had been watching before. It was clichy and less than well made, a bright blue ring about the clock with a cat's head peeking over the top. It had reminded Natsu of Happy peeking out of things he shouldn't be in like Lucy's desk, or her closet, or Natsu's school bag, that he couldn't help but buy it for her. And to his surprise, she had loved it.

Natsu nestled deeper under the blanket, his arm tightening around Lucy's middle where he had slung it sometime in the night. It was rare that they went to bed at the same time, almost always one of them -or both- having some insane project due or homework that needed to be done, and tonight had been no different. Natsu had gone to bed at a reasonable time of passing out at eight PM and had somehow moved from the sofa to the bed. Probably Lucy. She was nice like that.

Lucy was also nice to hold, soft and squishy and warm in his arms. Natsu knew she hated the layer of baby fat she could never get rid of no matter how often she went to the gym or came home with scrapes and bruises from lacrosse practice, but it was one of the things he loved about her. Natsu loved a lot of stuff about Lucy. He loved her smile, and her pouts. He loved how every single emotion Lucy felt played in her deep brown eyes unashamedly, and how she could cry because Happy had done something too cute or was angry or just tired. He loved how her moods were unpredictable like a hurricane but how easy it was to pull a laugh from her anyway. Natsu loved how Lucy danced to a beat he could never know, and how she pulled him into it along with her when she saw him, never thinking that he couldn't join her. Never thinking that she deserved more than what he could give her.

Natsu didn't act selfishly all that often, it going against everything his father had taught him, but with Lucy… With Lucy he was allowed to be selfish. He was allowed to want to take up her time and attention. He wouldn't, no, _couldn't_ deny himself from that, no matter how much he knew he burdened her. Because Lucy never once made him feel like a burden. Only a handful of people had done that, Igneel being on that short list.

Natsu blinked as Lucy shifted in his arms, pushing back against him. A soft touch along his forearm let him know she was awake, her small hand cupping his and twining their fingers together. Natsu half grinned to himself when he thought about how it was kind of like kissing, squeezing her fingers back gently. Natsu really liked kissing, in every way they did. He liked feeling how her breath stuttered and her body moved to his in a deep kiss, or feeling the heat and softness of her full lips for the half second of a peck. He liked how she tasted, and how she felt. Natsu liked everything about her, and if he could hear he'd bet he'd love how she sounded. Lucy looked like she'd have a nice voice. Soothing, and sweet, like petting Happy's fur as he purred in Natsu's lap. Or ice cream.

Natsu grinned into Lucy's hair as she pressed even tighter to him, her head half turned so he could barely make out her profile. Her eyes were closed, lips turned up in her own sleepy grin. Natsu felt a deep, almost winding fondness resonate through him at the small gesture, his thumb rubbing small circles into the side of her wrist.

"Didn't mean to wake ya," he spoke, trying to keep his voice soft and low. It was hard to think about how loud he might be to others when the only thing that let him know he was speaking out loud was the vibrations of his throat and feeling of the silent words on his tongue and teeth.

Lucy shrugged, gently taking one of Natsu's hands and lifting it to her face, her warm breath surrounding his fingertips as she placed his fingers to her lips. He traced the line of her lower lip, his hand already familiar with the pillowy softness, sometimes breaking a deep kiss to simply touch her bruised and puffed lip in awe that this was real. Natsu didn't think he'd ever get bored of touching Lucy, or watching her, or even just feeling her presence at his side. "It's okay," she mouthed, keeping firmly tucked into him but wanting to speak to him still. A pang went through his chest as Natsu thought about how if he could hear they wouldn't have to do this, could just whisper to one another in the darkness of the night.

Natsu felt Lucy smile against his touch, her mouth gently pursing to press butterfly kisses against his fingers. Natsu returned the grin, nosing at her ear, lazy and sleepy. So what if they weren't normal? Lucy loved him, wholly even if sometimes he didn't feel whole himself. But Lucy was weird, and he loved her weirdness most of all.

"What were you thinking about?" Lucy asked, Natsu feeling the words as they left her, gently caressing his touch and leaving him breathless as the intimacy of the feeling crashed over him. No one would ever know Lucy like he knew her, how her words felt on his fingers, or how she smelt like a meadow at noon when all of her perfumes and showers were washed away by the end of the day and she laid in their bed.

"Stuff," Natsu said. He laughed to himself as Lucy huffed in irritation, muffling it in the back of her neck when she nipped at his fingers in retaliation. "You," he said, softer. Lucy stilled in his arms, smiling gently. Natsu took a steadying breath, emboldened by the darkness around them and his hiding place in the crook of Lucy's shoulder. "How much I love you. How wonderful and weird you are. How you make me feel weird, but good weird. You weird. Weird in all the ways I've never felt before, and normal for all the things I haven't. You make me brave, and happy. You give me something to look forward to. You let me love you in the ways I can and are patient while I learn new ways. I…" Natsu trailed off, humiliation catching up to his ranting tongue. Lucy didn't need to be bothered by all of these feelings of his, had better things to be doing like sleeping or thinking her own thoughts. Not having Natsu shove his own on her. Natsu calmed his racing mind to Lucy's pounding heartbeat, her breath stuttering with each inhale. She breathed his name, and Natsu shivered in turn, something heavy curling in his gut at the way Lucy held his name so tenderly on her lips.

"You sweet, dumb boy. Don't get all shy on me after saying stuff like that. It's not fair." Lucy mumbled, nuzzling into his hand with a large smile.

"Why isn't it fair?" Natsu asked, slipping his leg between Lucy's as he pulled her closer to him, their hearts falling into synchronization easily.

"Because no one should be able to be _that_ perfect." Lucy said, her words humming on his fingers.

"I'm not perfect," Natsu mumbled himself, unsure if he really wanted Lucy to hear him. They'd had many conversations like this over the months that they had been together and the months before that, and sometimes Natsu believed her. Other times, he didn't.

The easy feeling from before slipped away as Lucy tensed, her mouth pushing out in a firm pout in the way it always did when she and Natsu bickered. Her thighs clenched on Natsu's, trapping him as her other hand tangled with his that had slipped under Lucy's side and was resting over the soft skin of her stomach where her sleep shirt had rode up. "You _are_ perfect Natsu," Lucy said, forceful and certain, an aura of confidence and stubbornness radiating from her. "Perfectly imperfect. There is not a single thing I would change about you, you got that?"

"Aye, sir," Natsu breathed, pressing a soft and lingering kiss to the nape of her neck. He pressed a second, and then a third, and a fourth and a fifth beside it, allowing himself to simply move as he wished at the love blooming in his chest at Lucy's belief in him. She made him feel invincible and loved, and all he wanted in this moment of theirs was to make her even better than she let him feel.

Lucy relaxed back into him, a low sound resonating in her chest as she pressed into his kisses. Natsu stuttered over a kiss as her legs fell open, inviting him closer. Tentatively Natsu pressed his thigh up, feeling the heat of her core on his bare skin, only the thin layers of her underwear and sleep shorts separating them. Lucy made the same groan as she slowly rocked on his thigh, the heat in his gut tightening as he hardened at the feeling of Lucy moving against him and the taste of her skin on his lips. He stopped his kisses when Lucy took hold of his hand again, gently moving it away from her lips and leading him to trail over her body before nestling between her thighs. She cupped his hand, giving him a reassuring squeeze as she settled them over the heat his thigh was currently pressed against.

Natsu's throat dried as he moved his fingers along her slit, feeling her easily through her clothes with unsure strokes. He became more confident with each roll of her hips and twitch of her body, chasing his touch in a way that went straight to Natsu's cock.

Holding his breath Natsu lifted his hand, grip biting into Lucy's stomach with his one hand while the other slowly pushed between Lucy's bare skin and the soft cotton of her shorts and underwear, waiting for any sign from Lucy that she wanted him to stop. It didn't come, Lucy's thighs parting more and her hand reaching back and fisting at his boxers as Natsu resettled over her dripping core. Natsu groaned at the feeling, an instinctive noise he couldn't hear himself but pulled a shiver and hitch in breath from Lucy. Natsu kissed her ear, middle finger slipping between her soaked folds and curls feeling how soft and velvety and _good_ the heat there was. He felt the nub at the top, moving two fingers over it in tight circles. He grinned into her hairline as Lucy arched into him, his touches roughening and pulling wilder reactions from Lucy, just like he wanted.

His cock ached, Natsu slow as he rocked against Lucy's back. Now was about Lucy, he could deal with himself later after he had satisfied the girl in his arms. Natsu held her pinned to him, slowing his rubbing on her clit to allow Lucy a chance to breath, teasing her on the edge of an orgasm. She squirmed in his arms, Natsu feeling the breath leave her in a gasp when he pushed a finger deep into her, rough and sudden like he knew she loved.

"I like the way you feel," Natsu purred into her ear. The shiver that trailed along her body as Natsu shifted them so he laid partially under her made a smug pride sit in his chest. He nipped at her ear, Lucy arching into him as her legs fell further apart, calling to him. Lucy clenched tightly around his fingers as he pushed a second one in, stretching her and feeling her molten heat coat his digits, her wetness dripping down his hand with each rough thrust into her. "So good, Luce."

Lucy's legs clamped around Natsu's hand at his words, a soft and demanding touch making Natsu snarl as it surrounded his cock, Lucy's hand having pushed through the opening of his boxers and gripped his straining cock. She rolled her palm over his slick head before stroking him, each pump matching Natsu's in a lewd harmony. Natsu felt Lucy's moan as he pressed a deep kiss to the hollow behind her ear, nipping at her skin and tasting her, his hips rocking into her hand eagerly while his own fingers curled on the spot inside her that made her arch and writhe in his arms, her mouth falling open in a scream Natsu would give anything to know.

Lucy's hand released his cock, raising to push against Natsu's chest and he let himself fall back. His breath was caught in his throat, unsure how to ask if Lucy was alright, what had he done, he was sorry he'd never do it again if Lucy just _told him_ what was wrong. Natsu blinked, the confusion and anxiety leaving as quickly as it had crashed over him. Lucy grinned brightly, settling over his lap while her hands sat flat on his chest as she completely un-subtly felt him up. He returned her smile with a smirk of his own, fisting at her hips, greedily feeling her curves under his touch and the grounding reminder that this was _real_ and she was _his_ and she wanted him to be _hers_. He pulled his lip between his teeth as Lucy ground on him, her head falling back and the air pushed from her lungs. She repeated the heavy rocks, growing more bold with each movement.

Natsu opened his eyes when Lucy pulled her thumb over the swollen flesh of his lower lip, blinking in surprise at the realization that they had closed at some point.

"I want you," Lucy signed, her heated and flushed expression backlit from the moon and starlight that had filtered through the blinds, the clouds that had allowed them to be surrounded by darkness disappearing sometime between Natsu waking up and now, unnoticed in the focusing effect Lucy had on him.

Natsu nodded dumbly, unsure what else to do with the knowledge of Lucy wanting to have sex with him. While they were both familiar with each other's bodies and were no stranger to exploring them, they hadn't had sex yet. Exhaustion here, Lucy being too good with her mouth there, Natsu fearing that he couldn't live up to Lucy's past experiences in general, or a thousand other reasons. Not that he'd told her that. Natsu washed the worry away forcibly, smiling into the giddy kiss Lucy was pressing against him. He opened his mouth, swiping his tongue along the seam of her mouth and eagerly pushing in when she opened for him. Her hair was soft as Natsu fisted at it, easily tangling between and around his fingers as if all of her were trying to trap him, never allowing him the chance to freak out and run.

They had experienced Natsu's gut reaction to that the first time Lucy had told him she loved him.

If it hadn't been for Lucy's unnerving levels of forgiveness and determination to track him down to the airport two days later, their relationship might have ended before it even began.

But now wasn't a time to focus of Natsu's past dumbass mistakes, not when he had the sweet-sour taste of Lucy on his tongue and the feeling of her body on his, their stomachs and hips touching where her shirt was slowly riding higher and higher, tempting Natsu's wandering fingers. A call Natsu didn't deny, tracing the feeling of her ribs and the curves of her sides as he guided her shirt upwards. Lucy pulled back, giving him a wry and amused smile as she pulled off her shirt, baring herself to Natsu fully.

Her hair caught in the barely-there light, more spun silver than gold and stealing his breath. She was gorgeous, this person who had somehow decided that Natsu was worth showing this view. That he was worth anything. She almost glowed, her own soft light radiating from the inside out, an ethereal beauty that reminded Natsu of the way his father would talk about devis. Their shape unimportant, but the feelings they exuded to those around them the true signifiers. The hope. The light.

A light Natsu could never find the words to admit how much he needed. He was always better with simpler thoughts, and so it was that train he allowed to steer him instead.

"So pretty," Natsu sighed softly, smirking absently at the flush that raced along Lucy's shoulders and neck at his words. He was more focused on simply looking at her, though. The swell of her breasts, and the way her pale skin was dotted with the barest hint of freckles all over, Natsu's mouth growing more desperate with each second to kiss each one. Natsu ran the side of his finger over her right nipple, gentle as he pulled a shiver from Lucy that wracked her whole body. She fell into his hands when he led her down to him, gently resting on her hip and the nape of her neck as Natsu met her part way down, kissing her hard enough to leave her breathless when his head finally met the pillow again. Her expression was glazed, a soft blush blooming across her cheeks and nose catching Natsu's attention before she was the one crashing into him, her tongue running along the top row of his teeth and sliding along his in ways that felt both familiar and brand new.

Natsu rocked against her slowly, savouring the feeling of her so close to him. He lifted her, pushing her higher up his chest as he bent his legs, the action of spreading his own thighs to brace himself better spreading hers even further apart, bringing her core tighter against his eager cock. He could feel her wetness through both of their shorts, hot and inviting and slick.

Lucy twitched in his arms when he rolled them over, the air cooler than before as it brushed against his slick-soaked cock, the fabric of his boxers sticking to him. Natsu ignored it, able to breathe without the weight of Lucy so close to him. Natsu was almost embarrassed by how hard he was, wanted to give himself more time to focus on Lucy. And that he did, kissing along her collarbone and neck, tracing her wide smile with his lips before pushing his tongue into her eagerly accepting mouth. Natsu groaned in turn when he felt her moan hum through where their lips and tongues met, her whole body arching into his touch as Natsu fondled one of her breasts. She was so soft, skin firm but still pliant under his exploring searches, familiar with the heavy weight in his palm but still eager to discover all Lucy had to offer.

Natsu remembered her freckles as he drew a thumb over a tight nipple, rolling the hard nub in time to Lucy's shaking breaths. He pulled back from the kiss, drawing his tongue along the column of her neck, following the constellations on her skin, separated with teasing kisses and bites. Lucy had called the darker dots over his own face and shoulders constellations once, forgetting Natsu could read lips as well as he could. But if anyone was a star, it was Lucy, his own star that would guide him home no matter how lost he felt.

Lucy's nail dragging along his back fogged his head, Natsu feeling his sounds in his chest that she pulled from him. He pulled back, something hot and dense coiling in his chest at the red splotches blooming on her milky skin from his mouth, markings that would last for days to come. The feeling of Lucy watching him pulled his gaze to her face, the heat pooling even deeper in his gut at the breathless expression her wore. Her rich brown eyes were like melted chocolate, hooded and glazed with desire.

The breath was pushed from Natsu's lungs when Lucy reached down, gripping his cock once more. She worked his shaft, her hand warm and soft and wrapped so tightly on him that Natsu saw lights dance across his vision. He dropped his forehead to the crook of Lucy's neck, panting and grinding his hips into her fist. A whine pulled from Natsu when she let go of him, lifting his head to pout at her and ask why she had stopped.

"Natsu," Lucy signed, her name sign for him making a different kind of warmth send his heart fluttering in his chest like a damn school girl. "I want you. I'm ready. I want to have sex Natsu. I want you to fuck me."

Natsu stared at her dumbly, her face bright red and eyes cast away, but her lips pulled up in an embarrassed smile and her hands unshaken. She was being blunt and open and honest, something Natsu knew was difficult for her to be about things like this. He moved without thinking, ducking to press a kiss to her. He swallowed her chirp of surprise, grinning as Lucy gave into his kiss happily. He pulled back, moving his hand through her hair once to push back the golden wisps that hid her from him partially. "I want you too, Lucy."

He signed her name with a different motion than usual, the 'W' sign moving from right to left across his face with three pulses meaning 'weird' replaced by his right hand partially over his chin, all fingers out except for his middle finger flicking off his thumb twice. 'Light.'

Lucy beamed at him, her arms thrown around his neck as she pulled him into a deep kiss.

Natsu forgot about the world as he kissed her, his name slipping away with where they were, and what the future held even in the next minute, all of his attention stolen by the girl in his arms. He traced the roof of her mouth with his tongue, crushing his body down against hers, her arms tightening around his neck and nails dragging along his scalp in a sharp pain-pleasure before she fisted at his hair and bit at his lip ring. Natsu opened his eyes, watching Lucy's devious smile flicker in her self-impressed gaze, a smirk pulling up a corner of her mouth as she tugged on his piercing teasingly.

They rolled over yet again, Natsu dropping a leg to steady himself from falling fully off their bed. The floor was cold on his bare foot, the chill creeping over the rest of him as Lucy pulled back. She gave him a wide smile, her back half hiding what she was doing in her nightstand after she turned to it. Natsu kept his smile even as his ribs began to tighten on his lungs, sure it was just anticipation that was making his hands sweaty and his stomach lurch into his throat.

And then Lucy turned around, smile bright and hair mused, with a little silver foil packet between two fingers.

A condom.

Condoms were used for sex. Real sex. Which meant this was real. Natsu was really about to have sex. He thought he'd feel more excited, desperate to ravage her and claim her. Instead, Natsu felt a little ill, like the world was turning around as if he was on one of those fucked roller coasters Gray tried to drag him onto. He couldn't stop looking at the packet, so small and innocuous. Natsu hated it. His skin felt itchy, like when he touched wet velvet or drank orange juice after brushing his teeth. Wrong. Bad.

Natsu jerked when something touched his knee, blinking at Lucy. Her eyebrows were knit in worry, her lips wrapping around his name from instinct despite knowing Natsu couldn't hear it. "What's wrong?" Lucy signed. Natsu looked at where her knees dipped the blankets around them, the silver packet slipping along the sheet and resting against her. He shifted further off the bed, raising his gaze to meet Lucy's increasingly confused and anxious one.

"We can't have sex."

Lucy jerked at his voice, her fingers biting into his thigh. She spoke as well, searching his face for any hint of what may have changed in the seconds that her back was turned. Her lower lip trembled just the barest amount and Natsu's heart went from his throat to the floor. "I don't understand-"

"We're not married."

The words left him without thinking, Natsu feeling just as shocked as Lucy looked. Even though he'd never had the thought before, it felt right. Natsu couldn't imagine himself doing anything like… _that,_ before marriage. Bewilderment made her gape at him, though Natsu could still see the hurt beneath it. He was desperate to make her understand, to take that hurt away that he had caused. "I- we can't, it's not- it's not right? To have sex unwed? I-" Natsu stumbled over his words, switching to signing instead. He didn't know when he'd sat up, or when he'd shifted to only half be on the bed. Part of him was screaming to run. To not have to do this, to hurt her or think about why he felt like this. It would be so much easier to _not,_ just like it had been easier to flee instead of confronting how much Lucy had come to mean to him. How much he loved, adored, _needed_ her when she'd told him she loved him. But he wouldn't do that again. He'd nearly lost her before, and he'd be damned if he lost their future together because he was too chicken shit to stay and _talk_. The wetness welling in her eyes was crushing though, and Natsu couldn't bear to watch the anger that was sure to come as he crashed and burned trying to articulate or even understand his feelings.

"It's not something I can do," Natsu signed, his hands shaking slightly, Natsu concentrating on the tremors instead of watching Lucy's expression. "I-" he faltered, squeezing his hands in fists before restarting. "I'm not even that attached to my fucking heritage. I don't go to temple except for when Igneel makes me, I don't pray, I play up the deaf shit to avoid doing mantras. I haven't even fucking been to India!" Natsu fisted at his hair, running his hands through it to give himself time to collect his thoughts. To figure out where the fuck he was going with this rant.

Lucy cupped the side of his head, gentle as she curled her fingers through his hair. Comforting. His star home. Natsu lifted his head, feeling his eyes prick as he saw her small smile. "But it's still part of me. The teachings, the rules, it's how Igneel taught me to live. With my truth, and that what we do, here and now, matters in our next lives. It's there." Natsu pressed a hand against his chest. Over his heart. His soul. Lucy's hand covered his, her fingers interlinking with his easily.

"And I love you, because of how you live. Because of who you are. I would never ask you to change a single thing Natsu." Lucy said, leaning into him. Her forehead pressed against his, and Natsu's eyes fluttered shut, all the panic he didn't know he'd been holding floating away.

"I know," he whispered. Lucy pressed into him, and Natsu knew she had heard him.

She kissed his forehead and Natsu fell into her. He pushed her back so they both laid on the bed, Natsu tucked under her chin as she ran her hands through his hair. Time passed easily as Natsu curled his arms around her, hugging her body tight to his. He nuzzled into her neck, breathing in deeply and letting the smell of her skin soothe him. Everything was okay. Lucy had understood. He should have known she would have, Lucy was amazing.

Natsu hadn't met many people growing up, Igneel pulling him from first year of primary school after Natsu had let slip how often the teacher had made Natsu sit in the corner for disrupting class or not answering correctly or mispronouncing a word or looking at her wrong. Had said he was unruly and a 'problem child', not living up to her expectations. Igneel had nearly burnt down her house, which Natsu found out by watching his father talk on the phone. But Natsu wouldn't trade being homeschool for anything, even if the only people he had really known were his cousins and aunts and uncles. Natsu wondered how different he would have been if he'd known Lucy all those years like he felt he did. His mind drifted to Lucy as she ran her nails along the back of his neck and pulled a gentle shiver from him, her heartbeat and breath rhythmic against his cheek.

Lucy had been homeschooled -or tutored, as rich people called it- until she was fourteen, when she had convinced her father to let her go to private school at least. She had said it had been strict and more conservative than she would have liked, but at least it had been a boarding school so it was easier to sneak out of than her home. He thought about how their lessons would have been different, if her teachers were just as easily distracted as his father had been. What subjects they had been taught.

Natsu jerked up from Lucy, the -unfortunately- familiar feeling of anxiety squeezing his chest. Natsu hadn't had the sex talk until he was about fifteen, in which Igneel had sat Natsu down with Aunty Grandeeney and promptly fled the house for the next two hours. His aunt had been … informative. And blunt. As would be expected of a medical professional, but from what Natsu had gathered from his cousins' and friends' accounts of their public school sex ed it had been less than useful. And then what he had read about conservative teachings…

"I don't think you're a piece of used gum!"

Lucy blinked at him, patiently waiting for him to explain what the fuck this latest outburst was about.

"I was thinkin' and remembered what I'd read about how shit like boarding schools are with sex education and that fucking video with the shoes on their wedding night and- You know I don't care? It's not- it's not that I think people are _bad_ if they have sex because that's the stupidest idea I've ever heard and I've done shots with Gajeel and that bastard thinks he's a genius when he's one ounce of tequila away from dying and I don't like, care if you've had sex before because it has no fuckin' bearing on you who are as a person. Well, I mean, I _care_ but not in a judgey or gross way like you're going to hell or whatever or- I mean, it's, a me thing? Like I can't have sex before marriage because apparently I care about the gods perception of me, which, who knew? But I'm not saying-" Natsu stopped talking when Lucy pressed a finger to his lips, taking a breath he hadn't realized he'd needed.

"I know, Natsu." Lucy signed, taking her hand back and giving him a fond smile. "I know you love me, and you would never look down on me for anything. You're a good person, I wouldn't love you if you weren't."

Natsu felt his breath catch in his throat, emotions he couldn't hope to name swelling inside him like a tsunami on one of those Natural Geographic disaster shows Lucy watched. He pulled Lucy up to him, sitting in the middle of the bed and seating Lucy in his lap. "Besides, it's not like we're never going to have sex. I've waited six months since we started dating, what's another two years?" Lucy's easy grin faltered slightly as she sighed for 'year', her nose scrunching and motions falling off in thinly concealed resignation.

"What?" Natsu signed, watching her roll her eyes at his simple motion.

"I mean, I kind of assumed we were going to get married. _After_ we graduate," Lucy signed pointedly, blush creeping back onto her cheeks.

"You've thought this much about it?" Natsu asked, throat growing dry at Lucy's shy nod. "About sex or…" he trailed off, hands falling into Lucy's lap. Her head jerked with a snort, Natsu flushing under her amused look.

"Marriage, obviously you dork. You haven't?" She asked, not overly disappointed or shocked when he shook his head 'no'. But now he was, and what he was imagining felt more like a fantasy than a very real possibility. Being met by Lucy and Makarov and Laxus as he got off the stupid horse Igneel had somehow managed to rent, Lucy's hands covered in swirling henna designs that Wendy and Grandeeney had decorated her pale skin with, Natsu's mother's jewels and bracelets a gift from Igneel. He knew Lucy had probably always pictured a white ball gown that would make her look like a princess, but when Natsu thought of seeing Lucy at the ceremony, the most beautiful red and gold sari was the only thing he could imagine, the patterns extravagant and beautiful just like the Bollywood movies he would watch with Igneel when he was a kid. Both signing and speaking English and Sanskrit as they make their vows. The walks around the fire.

Natsu had never really cared about all the ceremonial shit before, but now, as he thought about doing it all with _Lucy_ , he found he _did_ want the whole grand ceremony. The three day event, all of his cousins and aunts and uncles and friends there, the wild party and feast afterwards.

And it wasn't just some fantasy, or scene from a movie.

It could be _real_.

Natsu tackled Lucy to the bed, crushing his mouth against hers as he kissed her. His fiance. She wanted to be with him forever. Thought Natsu was good enough to bind her soul to. His. _His_. Natsu laughed as Lucy pushed back against his shoulder, beaming down at her as he relented, her face coloured with surprise in the moonlight still streaming into the room. She was so beautiful, and his, she wanted to be _his!_ Natsu couldn't stop himself from dipping back down to her and stealing kisses along the swell of her cheek. He was just so happy.

Lucy squirmed under him, Natsu pulling back once more, getting the feeling that Lucy wanted to speak to him. Her smile was one of confusion, searching Natsu's face for any explanation of the kiss. Natsu would have felt bad for her dealing with all his mood swings if Lucy wasn't the exact same. "What was that for?"

"Because I love you. Because we're engaged-"

 _"Plan_ on being engaged," Lucy corrected quickly. Natsu ignored it, already as good as having picked out her ring in his mind, and the joy dancing in her eyes and the way her lips pulled up unwittingly let him know exactly where she stood on the subject. Natsu stared down at her, taking a moment to let everything sink in. She was so beautiful, her hair splayed out on the sheets and the sheer adoration in her gaze as she looked at Natsu. He ran a thumb over her lower lip, feeling her breath puff against him sending shivers along his spine and heat pooling in his gut. She wanted him. Lucy _wanted_ Natsu, and he wanted her so much he ached.

Lucy tilted into his kiss, her arms winding around his neck, her fingers tangling tighter in the hair at the back of his neck with each half second break they took for breath. Natsu's tongue slid along her lower lip, pulling back when Lucy's own flicked at his piercing. She rolled it over before pressing into his mouth, tasting Natsu as she tightened her arms on him. Natsu's hand slipped low, holding her side and feeling her ribs expand under her fingers, his other arm placed beside her head, his forearm dipping into the soft fabric of the blanket to stop himself from completely crushing Lucy. Lucy's shaking inhale made Natsu groan, falling towards her as if his body was caught in the gravity of hers. She was warm and soft under him, her skin addicting as it rubbed along his. Natsu pressed his thigh between hers, tight to her heat. Lucy arched, gasping into Natsu's mouth when he moved into her canting hips, her nails clawing at his back.

Natsu's hand shifted lower, and Lucy pushed back on his shoulders. She clung to him, keeping him only a few inches above her as she spoke, her lips wrapping each syllable with love. "What happened to waiting?"

"I don't want to anymore," Natsu growled, Lucy's hooded eyes widening and her pupils expanding to swallow almost all of the chocolate that coloured her gaze usually. Natsu was stopped from returning to their kiss by Lucy's nails digging into his shoulders, keeping him far enough away to read her lips, but not a hair further.

"But we're not married. I don't- What changed?"

"We're going to be married eventually, and I have you here and now. I don't waste opportunities as good as this Luce. I'm not missing a single thing with you," Natsu spoke softly, his thumb rubbing along Lucy's bare skin in the rhythm of her heart. "I want you." He jerked when he saw tears well in Lucy's eyes, floundering over words to make her stop crying.

"Umf!" Natsu felt his noise catch in his throat as he was yanked back down to Lucy, her lips desperate as she kissed him. His eyes fluttered shut, losing himself in the moment. His mind cleared like when the world became too much and he was able to lose himself in the silence, Natsu feeling peace, truly and fully in Lucy's love.

Their kiss turned desperate and hot, each brush of Lucy's tongue along his a wave of desire and each graze of her fingertips along his back and arms an electric shock. Natsu nuzzled into the slope of her jaw, tasting the salt on her skin as he traced his tongue along the delicate line. Lucy's legs spread, allowing Natsu to fall closer to the bed. He loved how strong her thighs were, lowering a hand to feel her muscle flex and twitch as Lucy pulled their hips together, the air knocked from Natsu's lungs by the rush of lust from his cock rubbing against Lucy's covered core. He ached, desperate to be free of his boxers and to free Lucy of the rest of her clothes as well. Natsu rocked into her when Lucy bucked against him, just as eager to continue as he was.

Something cool brushed against Natsu's knee and he pulled back from nipping at Lucy's collar bone to look at it, his thumbs pausing under the band of her shorts. It was the condom from before, still just as innocent in it's unmarked silver package. Natsu pushed back the spike of his heart to his throat it still brought out of him, feelings from before easily overpowered by what he felt in his chest now. Natsu refused to be beat by a fucking condom, not when he was this close.

He snatched it from the bedding, holding it between his teeth and grinning down at Lucy. She blinked at him once, the lust -for _him_ \- clouding her gaze only a few seconds as she looked at Natsu. And then she was chortling, shoving Natsu's shoulder playfully. He rolled over, wagging his eyebrows at her and keeping his grin. He was pretty sure she mumbled the word 'dummy' to herself, but Natsu chirped happily instead of mentioning it when Lucy plucked the condom from his teeth, pressing a sweet kiss to him in replacement. Natsu fell back when she placed her hand on his chest and pushed, pinning Natsu to the sheets. Her grin was bright and salacious as she looked over him, taking her time as she raked her gaze over his bare body beneath her. The condom was quickly removed from its packet, the rubber clear and slick looking. Lucy's nose wrinkled a little at the slight lube transferred to her fingers and Natsu lost it, throwing back his head as his chest shook with laughter. She was so weird, grossed out by a little lube considering how much she wanted to fuck. Natsu might not have been a fan of porn but that didn't mean he hadn't watched some, and sex was bound to be a lot messier than a little lube on some fingers.

He continued to laugh even as Lucy swatted at his chest, wiping a tear from his eye when he finally looked at her. "Keep laughing and you'll be putting this on by yourself," Lucy signed, pouting at him. Natsu grinned at her in surrender, placing his hand on her thigh and giving her a soft squeeze. Lucy eyed him suspiciously, tugging off his boxers with a huff. Her gaze softened when she caught sight of his cock, his length all but twitching in need at the way Lucy bit her lip and gently trailed her fingers along the top of his thigh. Natsu's lungs ached from lack of air, unable to breathe as Lucy slowly reached for him. Natsu watched as her pale hand wrapped around his length, thin fingers stark against his own brown skin. He was also hoping that if he came from her just touching him Natsu would be able to make himself pass out to escape the humiliation.

Natsu thanked every god he could name as Lucy's grip tightened around his base, no spurt of cum making him crave an early death from the blissful contact of her hand on his shaft. She stroked him, tight and soft, a little dry but Natsu wasn't about to say shit. Her lips were gentle as she kissed him, more of a caress than anything. Full of love and passion, her body moulding to his as she leaned over him. Natsu moaned as her breasts held tight to him, Natsu's fingers twitching to grope and feel them spill between his fingers, or maybe bury his face in the softness and taste her at her most pure.

Coolness on his cock pulled a shiver from Natsu, the slickness unexpected. He could feel Lucy wrap her hand back around him, moving quicker as she pumped his length with her fist in tight strokes. She kissed his neck, her tongue flicking along his scar teasingly. Natsu gasped, fisting at the sheets as pleasure shot along his nerves like a wildfire, his pulse pounding in his cock and leaving his mind fogged. If her hand felt this good, Natsu was practically drooling thinking about what the rest of her might feel like. Lucy's hands joined his at tugging at her clothing, underwear and shorts discarded quickly and thrown carelessly off the bed, neither letting the other pull away from the other for too long.

With a grunt Natsu rolled them over, canting his hips lazily against the heat of Lucy's bare stomach. He didn't want to be helpless in the hands of Lucy their first time. He wanted to be the one to make her face twist in pleasure and her body writhe under him, wanted to have his right mind to sear every last second into his brain. Lucy grinned up at him, her chest shaking with a surprised giggle when he hooked his hands under her knees and pinned them beside her, Lucy spread and bare under him. Her nails raked through his hair, lashes fluttering coyly as she dragged her calf along his shoulder.

Natsu paused lining his head up with her entrance, his tip slick from dragging it along her dripping folds. Lucy held his gaze, her smile warm and open, no hint of hesitation as she waited for him. Never pushing. Waiting for Natsu to take the next step, in his own time. Fuck, did he love her. Natsu watched her face as best as he could as he pushed in, struggling to not completely lose himself in the feeling of her surrounding his cock. How soft and _hot_ she felt inside, walls fluttering around her as he stretched her tightness, burying himself as deeply as he could inside her.

The sight of Lucy's face as he gathered himself was enough to nearly make him lose it again. Her eyes were open but unseeing, so much desperate need and lust filling them that Natsu felt pride burn through his blood, powerful. He wanted to kiss her lip, swollen from how hard she was biting it, struggling to silence the noises only she could hear. Natsu frowned, the blankets bunching between his fingers as he tightened his hold on where he had placed his hands beside her head. If he couldn't hear her, then dammit it he was going to watch her scream and thrash as he fucked her.

Lucy jolted under him, head thrown back as her own hands clawed at his shoulders, not expecting the deep and quick pace Natsu had chosen. Her hips met every thrust and grind he pushed against her, her body moving with his as they found their rhythm together. Flush spread across her chest and face, splotches of bright colour that told Natsu everything he needed to know, her face turned away from him and his pulse so loud in his head that he could almost swear he could hear it. Lucy looked at him, smile falling as her mouth opened into the most perfect 'o' Natsu had ever seen, eyes lidded heavy in pleasure, rocking against the sheets below them with each pump of his cock into her, feeling her tighten around him when he moved on the spot he had heard his friends talk about like it was a myth. But Natsu had found it, and drove his tip into it as hard as he could, desperate to feel Lucy cum on his cock. Because of his cock. Because of _him_.

Sharp pain dug into his hairline, Lucy holding onto him as she moved under him, her throat tight with each gasp and moan Natsu pulled from her that he couldn't _fucking hear._ A thought came to him, a way to know each quiver and whimper and scream he made Lucy release, and as he buried his cock into Lucy over and over and over again his body moved without thinking of anything other than what he _needed,_ what was happening in the moment here and now.

His hand settled over her throat, feeling the way her pulse pounded and her vocal cords shook under the force of her scream. Her body arched towards his, thighs holding onto him desperately, her body spasming and clinging to his cock as she came. Natsu stilled above her, hand frozen and barely touching her, Lucy jerking under him for several seconds before she collapsed back to the bed. Natsu blinked the sweat from his eyes, his brain only firing at fifty percent and struggling to fully understand what had just happened.

She had been close, but not _that_ close. And then Natsu had…

Natsu had touched her neck.

He watched her until she was able to look at him, Lucy still only half there, chest heaving for breath and her mouth left open. Natsu rested his hand more fully, not squeezing, but no longer just a featherlight touch either. Lucy's eyes widened, and Natsu pushed harder. He felt her tighten on his cock, body reacting in ways neither expected. Natsu felt her pulse thrum under his thumb, her gasp tickling him where he felt it move through her. Natsu started to move his hips again, pulling out almost fully before pushing back into her until their hips touched. He held eye contact with Lucy, pace slow as he moved. Her nails raked through his hair, and her skin was soft and sent waves of need straight to his cock as she moved her thighs over his hips, ankles crossing behind him as Lucy began to match his focused movements once more. He could feel each breath she took, the way her exhales shook when he pulled out of her, his cock dragging along her roughly.

He could feel the sounds he was pulling from her.

Natsu pushed into her harder, no longer taking his time. Each moan from Lucy was a little louder than the last, the vibrations a little stronger against the palm of his hand. Natsu sheathed himself inside her with even quicker strokes in return, both leading the other to go further in a game of cat and mouse that Natsu never wanted to stop. She was so good, so overwhelming that all Natsu could think of was molten fire and her heavy scent that was filling the room. How hot it was that she was getting off with his hand wrapped around her throat and his cock carving itself into her body. How _erotic_ she looked, sex glazed expression and parted lips and mussed hair. Natsu kissed her, hard and needy. She returned the kiss just as desperately, her whines swallowed by Natsu's tongue while her arms wound around his neck again, holding him where she wanted him as he fucked her. She spilt between his fingers when he grabbed her hip, angling her as he drove his length into her, the pressure growing in his gut becoming unbearable and his cock aching for release, desperate to find that perfect spot.

He couldn't take much more, already half delirious, but Natsu knew he wanted to see her cum again if it was the last thing he did. Her breath was sweet as it filled his mouth, panting against one another's open parted lips, the kissing forgotten. The knot in Natsu's gut continued to tighten, a miracle that it hadn't broken yet, Natsu chasing it, just a little more, her hips a little higher, Natsu's cock a little deeper, her walls gripping him tighter than anything he had imagined was possible and _so good_. He knew somewhere in the back of his mind that there were better words to describe what he was feeling, but _sogoodsogoodsogoodsogood_ were the only coherent thoughts he was capable of.

Natsu felt Lucy mumble against his lower lip, her words catching on his piercing. His name. She was saying his name, calling it like a prayer as he fucked her.

He couldn't help it anymore, dragging his lips over hers in a desperate attempt to kiss her as he came. Heat overcame him from inside, electricity and an indescribable pleasure filling his entire body from his gut to his fingertips. Haze left his mind white like an ocean breaking on the beach, shifting but unable to be held, easily lost in the swirling patterns that moved like nonsense within it.

He collapsed beside Lucy, nails firmly dug under his shoulder blades and her own body convulsing under his. He pulled his hand from her neck, brushing sweat soaked baby hairs from her forehead, his sense of touch fuzzy and his movements disjointed. Natsu felt like when he had accidentally fallen asleep in the sauna that one time, his limbs heavy and the world slow around him. It was much better now, though, and Natsu grinned as he nuzzled into Lucy's cheek.

Lucy's hands relaxed on his back when he pulled out of her, rolling onto his side and trapping one of her arms under him. He struggled to catch his breath, his heart still pounding but slowing to normal with every second. Natsu watched as Lucy caught her own breath, her head lolling to the side and meeting his gaze. He watched her giggle, breathless and exhausted but _glowing_ in their bed. She shuffled, pulling her arm back and flopping onto his chest, her own face buried in his neck. Natsu knew there were things he had to do, like take off the condom, take a piss, help Lucy move away from where her own slickness and cum had left a wet spot on the sheets, but exhaustion was already calling to him and making it hard to keep his eyes open.

The bed dipped and shifted, cool air replacing the warmth that Lucy's body had been emitting seconds before. Natsu forced open an eye, watching Lucy slowly make her way to the bathroom a few steps down the hall. Completely naked. Natsu grinned, Lucy clearly not all there if was willing to risk Cana seeing her in this state. Or maybe she was too much in her right mind and had remembered that Cana was spending the night at Kagura's. Natsu's grin slipped away and he sat up, his joints protesting at being moved in their noodle-like state. Maybe it hadn't been that good for Lucy. Gods, Natsu hoped it was good for Lucy.

The condom was thrown in the trash along with several tissues, and a new blanket thrown over the spot on the bed that Lucy would make him sleep in if she noticed it by the time she made it back into the room. She collapsed on the bed, crawling up until she was nestled in Natsu's side. Natsu blinked at the ceiling. Well, Lucy was obviously exhausted, and the way she couldn't keep her hands off his chest and stomach with soft touches or tiny nonsense patterns drawn into him with her fingertip was definitely a positive thing. And as kind as Lucy was, Natsu didn't think she was the type to fake an orgasm. Or two.

Natsu settled into the bed smugly, slipping an arm under Lucy and pulling her to him. He'd made her cum twice. He bet none of the guys had made their partner cum twice their first time. Gray had probably never made anyone cum. And Natsu had made Lucy cum. _Twice._

Natsu knew they should probably talk about the whole neck grabbing kink Lucy had just discovered about herself, or about if the sex had actually been as good as Natsu thought it had been, but right now Natsu didn't really have the mental energy for all that. Instead, he was content to snuggle under the blanket Lucy had half-heartedly pulled over them and pretend he didn't have a research report he should really be starting this weekend. There would be time for all that stuff later. They had all the time in the world.

They were engaged.

Well, they would be engaged once Natsu found a ring good enough for Lucy. And a way to pay for it. He wondered if the security around the geological department's compression oven was _really_ that good. Lucy may act like money didn't mean anything to her anymore, but Natsu knew her well enough to know she wouldn't turn down a nice shiny diamond.

* * *

 **A/N;** **Finally my 3.5 K thank you piece is done! only took like two months lmaoo**

 **I'm so sorry.**

 **Anyhoo, thank you all for sticking with me! And tbh the deaf!Natsu au has been so well received I might cry 3 So am promised, here is some smut, from Natsu's pov! I've mentioned before, but in this au Natsu is deaf and Indian-Japanese, something I gave a little more attention to since it was from Natsu's pov.**

 **Shoutout to Eien for helping me with this pieces and being a sounding board as I fumbled through Natsu's struggle. This prob would never have been completed without her help!**

 **-** **Devi - Hindu minor gods/demigods, helpful and benevolent spirits**

 **Let me know what you think, I love hearing your guys thoughts!**


	5. Gajeel Hates His Cousins

Gajeel didn't know he had gotten into this mess, but he didn't really give a shit.

One second he had been sitting in his dorm, headphones and glasses on as he tried to power through an essay about the dangers of bias in media that was due in two weeks, and the next thing he knew his fucking living space was being overrun by his dumbass cousin and his friends.

Not that they weren't also Gajeel's friends, but at the time of Gray and Loke throwing open his door and pulling in a confused Natsu clutching an apathetic Happy, they were decidedly _not_ on Gajeel's favourite people list. Loke had been dramatically bitching about the unfairness of Natsu's alcohol tolerance. Gray had been demanding Gajeel disprove Natsu's obvious lie. Happy had meowed at Lily and remained limp in Natsu's arms.

It was a clusterfuck.

And that was before Cobra and Laxus had come out of his room, half dressed and pissed at the interruption.

Now though, Gajeel was sitting on the chair Laxus had stolen from the engineering lounge, recording his dumbass cousin for both blackmail and Lucy.

"No, of course Lily, Acacia gum is the much better binder, but dextrin is so much easier to get and cheaper! But then if you want the colours of strontium or sodium to stand out more then you'll need a twenty-five - seventy-five mix too-" he continued on, signs sloppy and never fully finishing before moving onto the next word, Gajeel only following along because he had grown up with the dipshit. Happy and Lily sat in front of where he had ended up cross-legged on the floor, fully immersed in tracking Natsu's flailing movements.

"What the fuck is he even saying?" Loke asked, half sprawled in Gray's lap and their feet somehow not mangled for landing in Cobra's lap. They were nursing a beer, having called it quits after four and refusing to take part in the shots Gray had all but shoved down Natsu's throat. Gajeel would fear for his cousin's liver if he wasn't half convinced the idiot was indestructible. He was quietly proud that Natsu wasn't dead after nearly twelve shots of fire whiskey and a half dozen beers, but fuck if he wasn't the drunkest Gajeel had ever seen him.

"I 'unno," Gray slurred, just as entranced with Natsu's signing as the cats, "but I think it's givin' me dizzy."

"That's 'cus you tried to match him shot for shot you idiot," Laxus said flatly. Cobra was tucked under his arm, and Gajeel knew he was only pretending to be pissy about having people in his dorm. For as much as a bitch-face that Laxus had, he was more comfortable with people around, even if that was drunk-off-their asses college brats.

"Oh," Gray said, nodding to himself at Laxus' wise words.

Gajeel snorted, focusing back on Natsu with his phone. He was doing that thing where he made odd noises, as if he were trying to speak every fifth word, Gajeel thrown back to when they were twelve and Natsu was trying to explain that there was a cat stuck in a tree root system but couldn't think of the words over the racing of his thoughts. Not that Gajeel had been able to focus on anything other than how bloody his hands were, Gajeel finally understanding when Natsu had eventually dragged him to the spot where he had been trying to dig through the thorny brambles around the crying kitten.

A kitten that would grow up to be the one in front of him today. And the one that pounced on Natsu's hands, gnawing on his knuckle as Natsu fell backward with a loud squawk. Cobra and Loke burst out into laughter, Gray slow as he processed what was happening and Laxus cracking a grin. Natsu gave up his debate over firework internal workings to play with his cat, cooing happily when Lily jumped into the fray, chewing on a piece of Natsu's hair.

"Lucy's gonna love this," Gajeel mumbled. And if Lucy loved it, then she'd definitely show it to her friends. Which included Levy. Not that Gajeel cared what Shrimp thought of him, except she sent the cutest emojis in the weirdest fucking way…

Gajeel grunted, phone falling from his hand by the heavy weight that crashed over his shoulders. He glared at the sly grin Cobra shot him, trying to be as intimidating as he could before his pseudo-cousin could open his dumbass mouth.

"You that desperate to talk to her that you'd manipulate poor little Bunny Girl with pictures of Pinky and the cats?" Cobra teased. Gajeel shoved his hand in his face, pushing him away with a curse. Cobra snapped at his hand, sneering as he slunk back to the sofa and resumed his place under Laxus' arm. Gajeel shared a look with his roommate, silently asking why he had to fuck someone that was a certifiable sociopath. Laxus shrugged in a way that Gajeel interpreted as 'the dick's good'.

"Oi, is Natsu gonna like, die, 'cus I don't need that on my conscious or college record," Loke called. Gajeel snorted again, picking up his phone and tucking it in his pocket.

"Nah, but he ain't gonna be happy tomorrow I can tell you fuckers that."

Loke made a face at Gajeel, their glasses half smushed into their face but doing nothing to fix it. Loud snoring filled the room, Gajeel turning back to where Natsu laid flat on the floor. Lily pawed at one of the piercings in Natsu's upper ear, a dangly star that he had stolen from Lucy's jewelry store. Happy curled on Natsu's chest, nose to his chin.

Gajeel groaned as he stood up. Natsu would have to pay him back for this through begging and doing his science req homework for a month, all semester if the dipshit threw up in his bed.

* * *

 **A/N; :D :D :D :D :D :D Idk if this is what you were hoping for but it sure was fun to write! I love exploring the friendships, something I admit I neglect a bit for my ships sadly. But tada! Some good old boy (and Loke) bonding over dumb decisions and sucking at romance!**

 **All of my content about Deaf Natsu on tumblr can be found under the _deaf natsu au_ tag, and the main writing pieces under _deaf!natsu_**

 **Thank you guys for all the love towards this! It really means a lot! Let me know what you think, I die for your reviews!**


	6. Twerk and Grind

Lucy stood next to Natsu, her pink lemonade cooler in one hand and a red solo cup of whatever horrible beer mix was cheapest at the liquor store the men's soccer team had raided for their 'We Made It To The First Round Of Finals Which Frankly No One Expected' house party in the other. Natsu dropped the arms he had crossed over his chest, not looking at her even as he pulled her into his side. Not that Lucy could blame him, seeing as how she too was unable to tear away from the scene before her.

It had that kind of car-wreck feeling, the one with no ambulances but pieces of blue metal four lanes across so that people didn't feel _as_ bad gawking at it. It also had the same number of cell phones out to record it and post it online to last until one world leader pissed off another equally crazy one on Twitter and sent them all into a nuclear winter, but that just might be Lucy's Current Politics 400 and the three jello shots she had done with Cana in the kitchen a half hour ago talking.

"What in God's name is happening here," Lucy said flatly. Natsu took his beer from Lucy and sipped it, head cocked in confusion as he continued to watch.

Cobra looked at her from the corner of his eye from her other side, answering her kinda-serious question just as tonelessly.

"Loke challenged Gray to a dance contest and then this happened."

"Okay, but why is Juvia twerking?"

"You're the one who brought her to a frat party," Cobra shrugged, as unhelpful as ever.

"As if I would come to _Nick's_ party without at least seven people to act as a buffer," Lucy scoffed. Lucy had reluctantly allowed the lacrosse girls to drag her out tonight, despite the fact that Nick, the captain of the men's soccer team, was the one hosting it. And had hit on Lucy everytime they crossed paths, sometimes in front of Natsu.

So she brought a crowd, both to piss him off and keep him at arms length. Not that most of the people that had come with Lucy had been invited, but at this point it wasn't a surprise to see Lucy amidst a swarm of loud and energetic college students. "Why are you here anyway, don't you always say you'd rather put your head in a viper's mouth than go to a jock frat?"

"Laxus begged me to, one of the dicks in his advanced electrical physics class is on the team," Cobra said. Lucy nodded like she believed him, taking a sip of her drink.

Cobra growled something under his breath before he slipped away, leaving Lucy to consider all the ways she could stop the slowly worsening dancing in front of her. Juvia was white-girl-wasted, and was dancing like one. Which to be fair, she was, just like Lucy. Levy was supposed to be watching her, but seeing as how she was the permanent DD/babysitter Lucy could understand not dealing with a drunk Juvia trying to impress a drunk Gray. Who was no longer in the room.

She felt the weight of Natsu's gaze on the side of her face, turning to him with a questioning look. "She is not even on the beat." he signed, eyebrows pinched and more confused than anything. "I can dance on the beat and I have no hearing."

Lucy choked on her sip, whining as fizz and vodka burned her nose. Natsu cackled, head thrown back at Lucy's pain. She dug her elbow into his side sharply, returning the glaring pout he shot her. Rolling her eyes, Lucy gave him a gentler elbow in a different spot, allowing Natsu to pull her closer to his chest.

"We should stop this," Lucy signed, gesturing in the general vicinity of where Juvia was dancing with her hands on her knees, hair half covering her flushed face, hips moving in what Lucy thought was supposed to be twerking. It wasn't that Juvia was flat, it was just that she had all the coordination of a newborn deer when she wasn't in the water.

"We should," Natsu agreed, making absolutely no movement to do any such thing.

"Or…" Lucy let her hand waver in the air from side to side, leaning more towards the door.

"Gray can handle it," Natsu smiled at her, bright and cheery as he shook a tightly closed fist before making a releasing motion. Lucy ignored the direct translation of one of Natsu's many names for Gray -cold jack off. They wandered away from the crowd just in time to see Erza step into the circle and through an entire blanket over Juvia, the music changing to a pop song rather than the ten minute EDM one that Lucy was pretty sure had been put on repeat.

Lucy smiled and waved at people she knew as they walked through the house, giggling and tapping the neck of her bottle with her goalie. Who was sitting on the lap of the redheaded scorekeeper with the eyebrow piercing and bold lipstick choices. Lucy wondered how long the coffee brown make-up would take to wash off, or if the team would be teasing Kiki about it during tomorrow's afternoon practice.

She let Natsu lead them, her head already a little spinny and her feet not working as well as they should be. Looked like those shots were hitting full force now. They passed through the patio/shack room off the kitchen, Natsu grunting a nod at Laxus who was sitting with Freed, Bixlow, Cobra, and several people she didn't know the names off, a couple blunts and a pipe being passed around the group. She crinkled her nose at the smell of pot, strong in the smaller room. She stuck her tongue out at Cobra's smirk and held her middle finger behind her back at her stoner cousin as she followed Natsu up the steps that led to the second floor.

Lucy tripped over the last step, giggling as she fell into Natsu's chest. She beamed under his fond look, wrapping her arm around his waist and falling into step beside him. Big crowds could get a bit much for Natsu when it wasn't a concert, and Lucy loved that he always wanted to bring her with him when he needed to get away.

Lucy raised an eyebrow when Natsu led them into Nick's room, sitting on the bed a sober Lucy couldn't be payed to touch. Her eyebrows rose higher when Natsu locked the door, leaning back and crossing one leg over the other as she waited for Natsu to turn to her.

"Figured we could cock block that dick and get away from the party at the same time," Natsu grinned at her, voice low and gravelly and pulling a shiver from Lucy.

"Why'd you wanna get away?"

The words left her before her brain caught them, but almost-drunk Lucy didn't care. She swung her leg subtly, watching Natsu trace the line of her shin and thigh, his eyes hooded low and a different energy from before making Lucy shiver a second time. He walked the several steps to her, hand warm and rough on her knee. His fingers shifted as he gave her a gentle squeeze, leaving trails of goosebumps in his wake.

"You laughed when I said I could dance," Natsu murmured, hand leaving her knee to run down her bicep, Lucy allowing him to pull her arm to him, her fingers small in his palm where they settled. He pulled her up, Lucy entranced as Natsu guided her to her feet, and then to the middle of the room. "I wanna show ya how good I can dance."

"Okay," Lucy breathed, not really knowing what else to do. The lighting of the room made all of Natsu's features sharper, piercings glinting in the light from the open window, dark look in his eyes hungry and intoxicating, pink hair wild and dangerous. His hand on her back was heavy, pulling her close to him so their chests touched. Lucy leaned in even closer when his hand dropped low, squeezing her ass as Lucy pushed into his fist. They started to move side to side, swaying with the beat Lucy could feel reverberate through the floorboards and up into her bones. She knew Natsu could feel it too, his lead confident as he moved their hips together. It was lewd and dirty and _hot_ , grinding with Natsu in the dark.

Natsu grinned at her, sharp teeth showing off his smugness as Lucy moved her hands from his chest. She held onto one of his arms, strong bicep and tricep flexing under her fingers and making her mouth water, other holding onto the back of his neck as she pulled herself even closer to him.

"Told ya I could dance," Natsu purred.

"I like your voice," Lucy said, lost as she stared into his emerald eyes and felt his body move against hers to the pounding bass and drums of the music. Natsu blinked at the random comment, grin soft as he leaned down and brushed his nose against hers.

"I like your face," he said, gripping her ass even tighter and leading her against his steady rolls, thick thigh slipping between her own. She kissed him, unable to hold back any longer. The hand on his neck moved higher and pushed against the grain of his spikes, hairs soft between her fingers. His tongue brushed on her lower lip, eagerly moving against her own after she let him in. Natsu pushed into her, holding Lucy tight despite leaning over her, making him hold her weight to stop from falling. Lucy trusted him though, and clung to him as she ground against the growing hardness she felt forming where their hips met.

The song changed, beat harder and slower than before, _Young Dumb & Broke _floating through the floor. Natsu pushed into Lucy harder, kissing her neck with heavy sucks and light teeth as he ground into her, rolls matching the beat as if Natsu was the one setting the pace and not the song.

"You keep this up and I'm gonna have to fuck you in this gross frat house," Lucy groaned, pulling back and holding Natsu's wolfish gaze. She bit her lip, whine caught in her throat when Natsu lifted her leg to hook on his hip, crushing them together, all pretense of dancing gone.

"You're so hot when you dirty talk," Natsu growled. He picked her up, Lucy squeaking at the sudden lift but quickly readjusting. She claimed Natsu's mouth in a heated kiss, burying both hands in his hair as he carried her to Nick's bed. His hand slipped under the short hem of her jean shorts, riding the denim high and tight against her core as he groped her ass.

Lucy didn't know about Nick, but at least his _bed_ was going to see a proper fucking tonight. Especially since Natsu liked to make it a game to see how many times he could make Lucy cum before they were done.

* * *

 **A/N; I'm sorry this took so long to get to but! It's here! And I'm done school! for now lmao**

 **So this started out in one way and then… turned into… soft grinding? sexy party time? Lucy's gonna be gross and fuck on a dudes bed like true college trash? Natsu doesn't give a shit either way lmao**

 **Also! I've been reading up more on how to write ASL so hopefully that will be coming across in future pieces! I'll prob never stop learning how to better convey Natsu's story and the experience of deaf people/those around them, and anything y'all can say is a huge help!**

 **Let me know what you guys think!**


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